
* ^ jr o 





1 > * 


■<U 0 " 0 ’ A 0 ^ * * ' 1 " - 

'- ^ 4,0 »'*«?' > V 

' % ,/ 'mjk° ** A 

. v^* 

♦ A ^ 

* t£ 2* 4 x ^ ^ * 

° • * * A <\> * 

** ,»J&! % ** ,0 







, v?7i*' ,6 r *o, '«■*-* A <r, *7 -s 4 .<v c 

•v <5 c A » 

^ CT • 

o Ss^flPi [W» ° 

o 

^ °-*. ‘""O’ A 0 ^ *•*’* <?>* °^. " 0-0 

'*, ^ ^o v Ar’J'. A V ^ 

; ^ •(«; 

'<>•** A <" ** . . 5 s ,G V o, 'o-* - A <* 

^ A % o«!s/<^ ,6* *o, A % .•?• * 

i TV * _c~C > v<\ ^ *r / v ■ t /yj^„ f ^ « f^y\ #• 

■N v <ss\\\iy%* *5r*. - ~ * &a ////?-> ■*> ~ ^ % 




_ t * $ . 


- t • 6 _ 





.V 

° - 0 ' " n 

' sy n**®# "> v *••-•' 

^ A * - ^ * m ^ >* * 

•SMWi* V\ 


> 

* 



,° *° a 

• - » -’ v 

jy »**»* <? 

* A^ * « ^ „ • 

• ^ ,«£ » ^' ?/Uo 

: 



A v^, 

* y ^ „ 

... .v- o, «o.»* .A <^. *V..S 

.•l* *,'**■ o^ r^Ao. A ‘°"°* 

a* TV G * J&({[//y*?~, ^ <N «, 

•**<y . S»*2ir/»- ^o K . ^ „. -**o 

o iP 7 j 

H V" * ~Zs'/VIV& * k 

* O • *_ ‘AA „*► « 






A* ... ^ *•■•' *V ~<V .*"’' A 

O .O' * < • O 



A A °.‘WV y 

Z v 5 - '<>•»* A 

°o A A" 

* : -o/ : 

o \0 TV v 

0 * 0 aP C> * * 1 





O. 

- V> ■ v v .w,*. ^C 

\ •% A 5, *' 

« VV “ 

• $ V • W® * 

* •Or «^, o v * 

*> ■ay & • ($& « 

4 .(y o '» • * • A 

o^ • v # d * "*fe <A 

G >^/>^> * o A 




*o 


,0* . 


s ^° •%. *. 

..•** A°° ^ 



; %•/ ** 
» a a 


* ^ ° 



* 


>0 V w o 

v * 



n v « * • o 


O. ^o,k*» A 





4 O. 

X/ X* *> 



- ° 4 


O \V , 

«. v * 



t> N ° 


v v ^ 


. *• 

* ^ 

' 'S' V 

a.-' “tow; a^ v A 

,<r *,r>:- a 4 % 



0 ^ y • °^ 


*P\ 

y <?> ^0.7^ A <• 



9 a 

A > v<v w» 

a. * '~*yy/ipj& y v? _ ^ 

"' A> «V* 

\ A* 4 

t w » 




',0 


o w o 


^ A# ^ 


^o . * * A 
> ^ 

r ^ * ^^vVCx .<•* 'r C~ v v ^ur, /K^7 t_ -r o .A 

’: ,v o *o< '' 0 !^' : 

* 0 ^ /A ’« 

A 0 ' ^ 

> V . *LsL'+ 9x ^ 


aV^. : 

^ ^ • 




* Or 5 »> 



A*^ ' 

<S> 9 • 


* a v a_ 

* ** ^ 


✓f & 


O « k 







* • S ^ <0 







THE PATHFINDER 

OR 

THE INLAND SEA 


— MimiiifciiiiiiiiMi mill iii Hill II ■ mu hiiim hiiiihiim i 

By 

]f FENIMORE COOPER 


Author of " The Last of the Mohicans , ” 
“ The Deer slayer il The Sfyf etc . 


“ Here the heart 

May give a useful lesson to the head, 

And Learning wiser grow without his books.” 

— -Cowper 


GROSSET & DUNLAP 
PUBLISHERS : NEW YORK 













A» 


Jill 15 && 











1 


. 


« 




% 


>« 


% 


■- 1 . 


« 


I 

» 




* 


9 



Following the order of events, this book should be the 
third in the Series of the Leather-Stocking Tales. In “ The 
Deerslayer,” Natty Bumppo, under the sobriquet which 
forms the title of that work, is represented as a youth, just 
commencing his forest career as a warrior ; having for sev- 
eral years been a hunter so celebrated as already to have 
gained the honorable appellation he then bore. In “ The 
Last of the Mohicans ” he appears as Hawk-eye, and is pres- 
ent at the death of young Uncas ; while in this tale he 
reappears in the same war of ’56, in company with his 
Mohican friend, still in the vigor of manhood, and young 
enough to feel that master-passion to which all conditions 
of men, all tempers, and, we might almost say, all ages, 
submit, under circumstances that are incited to call it into 
existence* 

“ The Pathfinder ” did not originally appear for several 
years after the publication of “The Prairie,” the work in which 
the leading character of both had closed his career by death. 

It was, perhaps, a too hazardous experiment to recall to life, 
in this manner, and after so long an interval, a character I 
that was somewhat a favorite with the reading world, and 
which had been regularly consigned to his grave, like any s 
living man. It is probably owing to this severe ordeal that 
the work, like its successor, “ The Deerslayer,” has been so 
little noticed ; scarce one in ten of those who know all about 
the three earliest books of the series having even a knowl- 
edge of the existence of the last at all. That this caprice 
in taste and favor is in no way dependent on merit, the 
writer feels certain ; for, though the world will ever maintain 
that an author is always the worst judge of his own pro- 
ductions, one who has written much, and regards all his liter- 
ary progeny with more or less of a paternal eye, must have 
a reasonably accurate knowledge of what he has been about 
the greater part of his life. Such a man may form too high 


4 


PREFACE. 


an estimate of his relative merits, as relates to others ; but it 
is not easy to see why he should fall into this error, more 
than another, as relates to himself. His general standard 
may be raised too high by means of self-love ; but, unless he 
be disposed to maintain the equal perfection of what he has 
done, as probably no man was ever yet fool enough to do, 
he may very well have shrewd conjectures as to the compar- 
ative merits and defects of his own productions. 

This work, on its appearance, was rudely and maliciously 
assailed by certain individuals out of pure personal malig- 
nancy. It is scarcely worth the author’s while, nor would it 
have any interest for the reader, to expose the motives and 
frauds of these individuals who have pretty effectually vindi- 
acted the writer by their own subsequent conduct. But 
even the falsest of men pay so much homage to truth as to 
strive to seem its votaries. In attacking “ The Pathfinder,” 
the persons alluded to pointed out faults that the author, for 
the first time, has now ascertained to be real ; and much to 
his surprise, as of most of them he is entirely innocent. They 
are purely errors of the press, unless, indeed, the writer can 
justly be accused of having been a careless proof-reader. 
A single instance of the mistakes he means may be given in 
explanation of the manner in which the book was originally 
got up. 

The heroine of this tale was at first called “ Agnes.” In 
the fifth or sixth chapter this name was changed to “ Mabel,” 
and the manuscript was altered accordingly. Owing to inad- 
vertency, however, the original appellation stood in several 
places, and the principal female character of the book, until 
now, has had the advantage of going by two names ! Many 
other typographical errors exist in earlier editions, most of 
which, it is believed, are corrected in this. 

There are a few discrepancies in the facts of this work, as 
connected with the facts of the different books of the series. 
They are not materia*, and it was thought fairer to let them 
stand as proof of the manner in which the books were origi- 
nally written, than to make any changes in the text. 

In youth, when belonging to the navy, the writer of this 
book served for some time on the great Western lakes. He 
was, indeed, one of those who first carried the cockade of 
the republic on those inland seas. This was pretty early in 
the present century, when the navigation was still confined 
to the employment of a few ships and schooners. Since 


PREFACE. 


5 


that day, light may have said to have broken into the wilder- 
ness, and the rays of the sun have penetrated to tens of 
thousands of beautiful valleys and plains, that then lay in 
“ grateful shade.” Towns have been built along the whole 
of the extended line of coasts, and the traveller now stops 
at many a place of ten or fifteen, and at one of even fifty 
thousand inhabitants, where a few huts then marked the 
natural sites of future marts. In a word, though the scenes 
of this book are believed to have once been as nearly accurate 
as is required by the laws which govern fiction, they are so no 
longer. Oswego is a large and thriving town; Toronto and 
Kingston, on the other side of the lake, compete with it; 
while Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Chicago, 
on the upper lakes, to say nothing of a hundred places of 
lesser note, are fast advancing to the level of commercial 
places of great local importance. . In these changes, the 
energy of youth and abundance is quite as much apparent 
as anything else; and it is ardently to be hoped that the 
fruits of the gifts of a most bountiful Providence may not 
be mistaken for any peculiar qualities in those who have been 
their beneficiaries, A just appreciation of the first of these 
facts will render us grateful and meek; while the vainglorious, 
who are so apt to ascribe all to themselves, will be certain 
to live long enough to ascertain the magnitude of their 
error. That great results are intended to be produced by 
means of these wonderful changes, we firmly believe; but 
that they will prove to be the precise results now so 
generally anticipated, in consulting the experience of the 
past, and taking the nature of man into the account, the 
reflecting and intelligent may be permitted to doubt. 

It may strike the novice as an anachronism to place 
vessels on Ontario in the middle of the eighteenth century, 
but in this particular facts fully bear out all the license of 
the fiction. Although the precise vessels mentioned in 
these pages may never have existed on that water, or any- 
where else, others so nearly resembling them as to form a 
sufficient authority for their introduction into a work of 
fiction are known to have navigated that inland sea, even 
at a period much earlier than the one just mentioned. It 
is a fact not generally remembered, however well known it 
may be, that there are isolated spots along the line of the 
great lakes, that date, as settlements, as far back as many 
of the oldest American towns, and which were the seats of 


6 


PREFACE. 


a species of civilization long before the greater portion of 
even the original States was rescued from the wilderness. 

Ontario, in our own times, has been the scene of im- 
portant naval evolutions. Fleets have maneuvered on those 
waters which, half a century since, were desert wastes, and 
the day is not distant when the whole of that vast range of 
lakes will become the seat of empire, and fraught with all 
the interests of human society. A passing glimpse, even 
though it be in a work of fiction, of what that vast 
region so lately was may help to make up the sum of knowl- 
edge by which alone a just appreciation can be formed of 
the wonderful means by which Providence is clearing the 
way for the advancement of civilization across the whoie 
American continent. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


CHAPTER I. 

The turf shall be my fragrant shrine; 

My temple. Lord ! that arch of thine; 

My censer’s breath the mountain airs; 

And silent thoughts my only prayers.” MOORE. 

The sublimity connected with vastness is familiar to 
every eye. The most abstruse, the most far-reaching, 
perhaps the most chastened of the poet’s thoughts crowd 
on the imagination as he gazes into the depths of the 
illimitable void. The expanse of the ocean is seldom seen 
by the novice with indifference; and the mind, even in the 
obscurity of night, finds a parallel to that grandeur which 
seems inseparable from images that the senses cannot com- 
pass. With feelings akin to this admiration and awe — the 
offspring of sublimity — were the different characters with 
which the action of this tale must open, gazing on the 
scene before them. Four persons in all — two of each sex 
— they had managed to ascend a pile of trees that had 
been uptorn by a tempest, to catch a view of the objects 
that surrounded them. It is still the practice of the coun- 
try to call these spots windrows. By letting in the light 
of heaven upon the dark and damp recesses of the wood, 
they form a sort of oasis in the solemn obscurity of the 
virgin forests of America. The particular windrow of 
which we are writing lay on the brow of a gentle acclivity, 
and it opened the way for an extensive view to those who 
might occupy its upper margin, a rare occurrence to the 
traveller in the woods. As usual, the spot was small, but 
owing to the circumstances of its lying on the low acclivity 
mention and that of the opening’s extending downward. 


8 


THE PATHFINDER. 


it offered more than common advantages to the eye. Phi- 
losophy has not yet determined the nature of the power 
that so often lays desolate spots of this description: some 
ascribing to it the whirlwinds that produce water-spouts on 
the ocean; while others again impute it to sudden and vio- 
lent passages of streams of the electric fluid ; but the effects 
in the woods are familiar to all. On the upper margin of 
the opening to which there is allusion, the viewless influ- 
ence had piled tree on tree in such a manner as had not 
only enabled the two males of the party to ascend to an 
elevation of some thirty feet above the level of the earth, 
but, with a little care and encouragement, to induce their 
more timid companions to accompany them. The vast 
trunks that had been broken and driven by the force of the 
gusts, lay blended like jack-straws; while their branches, 
still exhaling the fragrance of wilted leaves, were inter- 
laced in a manner to afford sufficient support to the hands. 
One tree had been completely uprooted ; and its lower end, 
filled with earth, had been cast uppermost, in a way to supply 
a sort of staging for the four adventurers when they had 
gained the desired distance from the ground. 

The reader is to anticipate none of the appliances of 
people of condition in the description of the personal ap- 
pearance of the group in question. They were all way- 
farers in the wilderness; and had they not been, neither 
their previous habits nor their actual social positions would 
have accustomed them to many of the luxuries of rank. 
Two of the party, indeed, a male and a female, belonged 
to the native owners of the soil, being Indians of the well- 
known tribe of the Tuscaroras; while their companions 
were a man, who bore about him the peculiarities of one 
who had passed his days on the ocean, and this, too, in a 
station little, if any, above that of a common mariner; 
while his female associate was a maiden of a class in no 
great degree superior to his own ; though her youth, sweet- 
ness of countenance, and a modest but spirited mien lent 
that character of intellect and refinement which adds so 
much to the charm of beauty in the sex. On the present 
occasion, her full blue eye reflected the feeling of sub- 
limity that the scene excited, and her pleasant face was 
beaming with the pensive expression with which all deep 
emotions, even though they bring the most grateful 


THE PATHFINDER. 


9 


pleasure, shadow the countenances of the ingenuous and 
thoughtful. 

And truly the scene was of a nature deeply to impress 
the imagination of the beholder. Toward the west, in 
which direction the faces of the party were turned, and in 
which alone could much be seen, the eye ranged over an 
ocean of leaves, glorious and rich in the varied but lively 
verdure of a generous vegetation, and shaded by the lux* 
uriant tints that belong to the forty-second degree of lati- 
tude. The elm, with its graceful and weeping top, the 
rich varieties of the maple, most of the noble oaks of the 
American forest, with the broad-leafed linden, known in 
the parlance of the country as the basswood, mingled their 
uppermost branches, forming one broad and seemingly 
interminable carpet of foliage that stretched away toward 
the setting sun until it bounded the horizon, by blending 
with the clouds, as the waves and the sky meet at the base 
of the vault of heaven. Here and there, by some accident 
of the tempests or by a caprice of nature, a trifling open- 
ing among these giant members of the forest permitted an 
inferior tree to struggle upward toward the light, and to 
lift its modest head nearly to a level with the surrounding 
surface of verdure. Of this class were the birch, a tree of 
some account in regions less favored, the quivering aspen, 
various generous nut-woods, and divers others that resem- 
bled the ignoble and vulgar, thrown by circumstances into 
the presence of the stately and great. Here and there, 
too, the tall, straight trunk of the pine pierced the vast 
field, rising high above it, like some grand monument 
reared by art on a plain of leaves. 

It was the vastness of the view, the nearly unbroken 
surface of verdure, that contained the principle of gran- 
deur. The beauty was to be traced in the delicate tints, 
relieved by gradations of light and shadow; while the sol- 
emn repose induced the feeling allied to awe. 

“ Uncle,” said the wondering but pleased girl, address- 
ing her male companion, whose arm she rather touched 
than leaned on, to steady her own light but firm footing, 
“ this is like a view of the ocean you so much love.” 

“So much for ignorance and a girl’s fancy, Magnet,” 
a term of affection the sailor often used in allusion to his 
niece’s oersonal attractions; “no one but a child would 


IO 


THE PATHFINDER. 


think of likening this handful of leaves to a look at the 
real Atlantic. You might seize all these tree-tops to Nep- 
tune’s jacket, and they would make no more than a nose- 
gay for his bosom.” 

“ More fanciful than true, I think, uncle. Look thither; 
it must be miles and miles, and yet we see nothing but 
leaves! What more could one behold if looking at the 
ocean ? ” 

“More!” returned the uncle, giving an impatient ges- 
ture with the elbow the other touched, for his arms were 
crossed, and the hands were thrust into the bosom of a 
vest of red cloth, a fashion of the times, “ more, Magnet ? 
Say, rather, what less ? Where are your combing seas, your 
blue waters, your rollers, your breakers, your whales, or 
your water-spouts, and yo.ur endless motion, in this bit of 
a forest, child ? ” 

“ And where are you tree-tops, your solemn silence, your 
fragrant leaves, and your beautiful green, uncle, on the 
ocean ? ” 

“Tut, Magnet! if you understood the thing, you would 
know that green water is a sailor’s bane. He scarcely 
relishes a greenhorn less.” 

“ But green trees are a different thing. Hist ! that sound 
is the air breathing among the leaves.” 

“You should hear a nor’wester breathe, girl, if you 
fancy wind aloft. Now, where are your gales, and hurri- 
canes, and trades, and levanters, and such like incidents, 
in this bit of a forest; and what fishes have you swimming 
beneath yonder tame surface ? ” 

“ That there have been tempests here, these signs around 
us plainly show; and beasts, if not fishes, are beneath those 
leaves.” 

“ I do not know that,” returned the uncle, with a sailor’s 
dogmatism. “ They told us many stories at Albany, of 
the wild animals we should fall in with, and yet we have 
seen nothing to frighten a seal. I doubt if any of your 
inland animals will compare with a low-latitude shark ! ” 

“See!” exclaimed the niece, who was more occupied 
with the sublimity and beauty of the “ boundless wood ” 
than with her uncle’s arguments, “yonder is a smoke curl- 
ing over the tops of the trees — can it come from a house ? ” 

“Av. ay; there is a look of humanity in tha<- smoke/ 1 


THE PATHFINDER. 


li 


returned the old seaman, “ which is worth a thousand trees; 
I must show it to Arrowhead, who may be running past a 
port without knowing it. It is probable there is a cam- 
boose where there is a smoke.” 

As he concluded, the uncle drew a hand from his bosom, 
touched the male Indian, who was standing near him, 
lightly on the shoulder, and pointed out a thin line of vapor 
that was stealing slowly out of the wilderness of leaves, at 
a distance of about a mile, and was diffusing itself, in al- 
most imperceptible threads of humidity, in the quivering 
atmosphere. The Tuscarora was one of those noble-look- 
ing warriors that were oftener met with among the aborig- 
ines of this continent a century since than to-day; and, 
while he had mingled sufficiently with the colonists to be 
familiar with their habits, and even with their language, 
he had lost little, if any, of the wild grandeur and simple 
dignity of a chief. Between him and the old seaman the 
intercourse had been friendly but distant, for the Indian 
had been too much accustomed to mingle with the officers 
of the different military posts he had frequented, not to 
understand that his present companion was only a subor- 
dinate. So imposing indeed had been the quiet superiority 
of the Tuscarora’s reserve that Charles Cap, for so was 
the seaman named, in his most dogmatical or facetious 
moments, had not ventured on familiarity, in an intercourse 
that had now lasted more than a week. The sight of the 
curling smoke, however, had struck the latter like the 
sudden appearance of a sail at sea, and for the first time 
since they met, he ventured to touch the warrior, as has 
been related. 

The quick eye of the Tuscarora instantly caught a sight 
of the smoke, and for quite a minute he stood, slightly 
raised on tiptoe, with distended nostrils, like the buck that 
scents a taint in the air, and a gaze as riveted as that of a 
trained pointer while he waits his master’s aim. Then, 
falling back on his feet, a low exclamation, in the soft 
tones that form so singular a contrast to its harsher cries 
in the Indian warrior’s voice, was barely audible; other- 
wise, he was undisturbed. His countenance was calm, and 
his quick, dark eagle-eye moved over the leafy panorama, 
as if to take in at a glance every circumstance that might 
enlighten his mind. That the long journey they had at- 


12 


THE PATHFINDER. 


tempted to make through a broad belt of wilderness wa* 
necessarily attended with danger, both uncle and niece 
well knew ; though neither could at once determine whether 
the sign that others were in their vicinity was the har- 
binger of good or evil. 

“There must be Oneidas or Tuscaroras near us, Arrow- 
bead/’ said Cap, addressing his Indian companion by his 
conventional English name; “will it not be well to join 
company with them, and get a comfortable berth for the 
night in their wigwam ? ” 

“No wigwam there,” Arrowhead answered, in his un- 
moved manner — “too much tree.” 

“ But Indians must be there; perhaps some old mess- 
mates of your own, Master Arrowhead.” 

“No Tuscarora — no Oneida — no Mohawk — pale-face 
fire.” 

“The devil it is! Well, Magnet, this surpasses a sea- 
man’s philosophy — we old sea-dogs can tell a soldier’s 
from a sailor’s quid, or a lubber’s nest from a mate’s 
hammock; but I do not think the oldest admiral in his 
majesty’s fleet can tell a king’s smoke from a collier’s! ” 

The idea that human beings were in their vicinity in that 
ocean of wilderness had deepened the flush on the bloom- 
ing cheek and brightened the eye of the fair creature at 
his side, but she soon turned with a look of surprise to her 
relative, and said hesitatingly, for both had often admired 
the Tuscarora’s knowledge, or, we might almost say, in- 
stinct : 

“ A pale-face’s fire. Surely, uncle, he cannot know that ! ” 

“Ten days since, child, I would have sworn to it: but 
now I hardly know what to believe. May I take the lib- 
erty of asking, Arrowhead, why you fancy that smoke now 
a pale-face’s smoke, and not a red-skin’s ? ” 

“Wet wood,” returned the warrior, with the calmness 
with which the pedagogue might point out the arithmetical 
demonstration to his puzzled pupil. “ Much wet — much 
smoke; much water — black smoke.” 

“ But, begging your pardon, Master Arrowhead, the 
smoke is not black, nor is there much of it. To my eye, 
now, it is as light and fanciful a smoke as ever rose from a 
captain’s tea-kettle, when nothing was left to make the* 
fire but a few chips from the dunnage.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


13 


“Too much water,” returned Arrowhead, with a slight 
nod of the head; “Tuscarora too cunning to make fire 
with water; pale-face too much book, and burn anything: 
much book, little know.” 

‘‘Well, that's reasonable, I allow,” said Cap, who was 
no devotee of learning; “he means that as a hit at your 
reading, Magnet, for the chief has sensible notions of 
things in his own way. How far now, Arrowhead, do you 
make us by your calculation, from the bit of a pond that 
you call the Great Lake, and toward which we have been 
so many days shaping our course ? ” 

The Tuscarora looked at the seaman with quiet supe- 
riority, as he answered: 

“ Ontario, like heaven — one sun, and the great traveller 
will know it” 

“ Well, I have been a great traveller, I cannot deny, but 
of all my v’y'gesthis has been the longest, the least profit- 
able, and the farthest inland. If this body of fresh water 
is so nigh, Arrowhead, and at the same time so large, one 
might think a pair of good eyes would find it out, for ap- 
parently everything within thirty miles is to be seen from 
this look-out.” 

“Look,” said Arrowhead, stretching an arm before him 
with quiet grace — “ Ontario. ” 

“Uncle, you are accustomed to cry ‘Land ho! ' but not 
‘Water ho! ' and you do not see it,” cried the niece, laugh- 
ing, as girls will laugh at their own idle conceits. 

“How now, Magnet! dost suppose that I shouldn't 
know my native element if it were in sight ? ” 

“ But Ontario is not your native element, dear uncle; for 
you come from the salt water, while this is fresh.” 

“That might make some difference to your young mar- 
iner, but none in the world to the old one. I should know 
water, child, were I to see it in China.” 

“Ontario,” repeated the Arrowhead, with emphasis, 
again stretching his hand toward the northwest. 

Cap looked at the Tuscarora, for the first time since 
their acquaintance, with something like an air of contempt, 
though he did not fail to follow the direction of the chief’s 
eye and arm, both of which were pointing, to all appear- 
ance, toward a vacant spot in the heavens, a short distance 
above the plain of leaves. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


14 


“Ay, ay, this is much as I expected, when 1 left the 
coast to come in search of a fresh-water pona, ” resumed 
Cap, shrugging his shoulders like one whose mind was 
made up, and who thought no more need be said. “ On- 
tario may be there, or, for that matter, it may be in my 
pocket. Well, I suppose there will be room enough, when 
we reach it, to work our canoe. But, Arrowhead, if there 
be pale-faces in our neighborhood, I confess I should like 
to get within hail of them.” 

The Tuscarora now gave a quiet inclination of his head, 
and the whole party descended from the roots of the up- 
turned tree, in silence. When they had reached the ground, 
Arrowhead intimated his intention to go toward the fire, 
and ascertain who had lighted it, while he advised his wife 
and the two others to return to a canoe, which they had 
left in an adjacent stream, and await his return. 

“ Why, chief, this might do on soundings, and in an offing, 
where one knew the channel,” returned old Cap, “but, in 
an unknown region like this, I think it unsafe to trust the 
pilot alone too far from the ship; so with your leave, we 
will not part company.” 

“What my brother want?” asked the Indian, gravely, 
though without taking offence at a distrust that was suffi- 
ciently plain. 

“Your company, Master Arrowhead, and no more; I 
will go with you, and speak these strangers.” 

The Tucarora assented without difficulty, and again he 
directed his patient and submissive little wife, who seldom 
turned her full, rich black eye on him but to express 
equally her respect, her dread, and her love, to proceed 
to the boat. But here Magnet raised a difficulty. Although 
spirited, and of unusual energy under circumstances of 
trial, she was but woman, and the idea of being entirely 
deserted by her two male protectors in the midst of a wil- 
derness that her sensds had just told her was seemingly 
illimitable, became so keenly painful that she expressed a 
wish to accompany her uncle. 

“ The exercise will be a relief, dear sir, after sitting 
so long in the canoe,” she added, as the rich blood 
slowly returned to a cheek that had paled in spite of her 
efforts to be calm, “ and there may be females with the 
strangers. ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 1 5 

“ Come, then, child — it is but a cable's length, and we 
shall return an hour before the sun sets.” 

With this permission, the girl, whose real name was 
Mabel Dunham, prepared to be of the party, while the 
Dew-of-June, as the wife of Arrowhead was called, pas- 
sively went her way toward the canoe, too much accus- 
tomed to obedience, solitude, and the gloom of the forest, 
to feel apprehension. 

The three who remained in the windrow now picked their 
way around its tangled maze, and gained the margin of 
the woods in the necessary direction. A few glances of 
the eye sufficed for Arrowhead, but old Cap deliberately 
set the smoke by a pocket compass before he trusted him- 
self within the shadows of the trees. 

“ This steering by the nose, Magnet, may do well enough 
for an Indian, but your thoroughbred knows the virtue of 
the needle,” said the uncle, as he trudged at the heels of 
the light-stepping Tuscarora. “ America would never have 
been discovered, take my word for it, if Columbus had 
been nothing but nostrils. Friend Arrowhead, didst ever 
see a machine like this ? ” 

The Indian turned, cast a glance at the compass which 
Cap held in a way to direct his course, and gravely an- 
swered : 

“ A pale-face eye. The Tuscarora see in his head. The 
Salt-water ” (for so the Indian styled his companion) “ all 
eye now; no tongue.” 

“ He means, uncle, that we had needs be silent; perhaps 
he distrusts the persons we are about to meet.” 

“ Ay — ’tis an Indian’s fashion of going to quarters. You 
perceive he has examined the priming of his rifle, and it 
may be as well if I look to that of my own pistols.” 

Without betraying alarm at these preparations, to which 
she had become accustomed by her long journey in the 
wilderness, Mabel followed with a step as light and elastic 
as that of the Indian, keeping close in the rear of her com- 
panions. For the first half-mile no other caution beyond 
a rigid silence was observed ; but as the party drew nearer 
to the spot where the fire was known to be, much greater 
care became necessary. 

The forest, as usual, had little to intercept the view 
below the branches but the tall, straight trunks of trees. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


f 6 

Everything belonging to vegetation had struggled toward 
the light, and beneath the leafy canopy one walked, as it 
might be, through a vast natural vault that was upheld by 
myriads of rustic columns. These columns, or trees, how- 
ever, often served to conceal the adventurer, the hunter, 
or the foe; and, as Arrowhead swiftly approached the spot 
where his practice and unerring senses told him the strang- 
ers ought to be, his footsteps gradually became lighter, 
his eye more vigilant, and his person was more carefully 
concealed. 

“See, Salt-water,” he said exultingly, pointing at the 
same time through the vista of trees, “pale-face fire! ” 

“ By the Lord, the fellow is right ! ” muttered Cap ; “ there 
they are, sure enough, and eating their grub as quietly as 
if they were in the cabin of a three-decker.” 

“Arrowhead is but half right,” whispered Mabel; “for 
there are two Indians and only one white man.” 

“ Pale-face,” said the Tuscarora, holding up two fingers; 
“red man,” holding up one. 

“Well,” rejoined Cap, “it is hard to say which is right 
and which is wrong. One is entirely white, and a fine 
comely lad he is, with an air of life and respectability about 
him ; one is a red-skin as plain as paint and nature can 
make him; but the third chap is half-rigged, being neither 
brig nor schooner.” 

“Pale-face,” repeated Arrowhead, again raising two 
fingers; “red man,” and showing but one. 

“ He must be right, uncle, for his eye seems never to fail. 
But it is now urgent to know whether we meet as friends 
or foes. They may be French.” 

“One hail will soon satisfy us on that head.” returned 
Cap. “ Stand you behind this tree, Magnet, lest the knaves 
take it into their heads to fire a broadside without a parley, 
and I will soon learn what colors they sail under.” 

The uncle had placed his two hands to his mouth to 
form a trumpet, and was about to give the promised hail, 
when a rapid movement from Arrowhead defeated the in- 
tention by deranging the instrument. 

“Red man, Mohican,” said the Tuscarora — “good; 
pale-face, Yengeese.” 

“These are Heavenly tidings,” murmured Mabel, who 
little relished the prospect of a deadly fray in that *^mote 


THE PATHFINDER. 


17 

wilderness. “ Let us approach at once, dear uncle, and 
proclaim ourselves friends." 

“ Good,” said the Tuscarora, “red man cool, and know; 
pale-face hurried, and fire. Let squaw go. ” 

“What!” said Cap, in astonishment; “send little Mag- 
net ahead as a lookout, while two lubbers, like you and 
me, lie- to to see what sort of land-fall she will make! If 
I do, I ” 

“ It is wisest, uncle,” interrupted the generous girl, “ and 
I have no fear. No Christian, seeing a woman approach 
alone, would fire upon her, and my presence will be a 
pledge of peace. Let me go forward, as Arrowhead wishes, 
and all will be well. We are as yet unseen, and the sur- 
prise of the strangers will not partake of alarm.” 

“Good,” returned Arrowhead, who did not conceal his 
approbation of Mabel’s spirit. 

“It has an unseaman-like look,” answered Cap, “but, 
being in the woods, no one will know it. If you think, 
Mabel ” 

“Uncle, I know there is no cause to fear for me; and 
you are always nigh to protect me.” 

“Well, take one of the pistols, then ” 

“Nay, I had better rely on my youth and feebleness,” 
said the girl, smiling, while her color heightened under 
her feelings. “ Among Christian men, a woman’s best guard 
is her claim to their protection. I know nothing of arms, 
and wish to live in ignorance of them.” 

The uncle desisted; and, after receiving a few cautious 
instructions from the Tuscarora, Mabel rallied all her 
spirit, and advanced alone toward the group seated near 
the fire. Although the heart of the girl beat quick, her 
step was firm, and her movements, seemingly, were with- 
out reluctance. A death-like silence reigned in the forest, 
for they toward whom she approached were too much 
occupied in appeasing that great natural appetite, hunger, 
to avert their looks for an instant from the important busi- 
ness in which they were all engaged. When Mabel, how- 
ever, had got within a hundred feet of the fire, she trod 
upon a dried stick, and the trifling noise that was produced 
by her light footstep caused the Mohican, as Arrowhead 
had pronounced the Indian to be, and his companion whose 
character been thought so equivocal, to rise heir 


iS 


THE PATHFINDER. 

feet as quick as thought. Both glanced at the rifles that 
leaned against a tree, and then each stood without stretch- 
ing out an arm, as his eyes fell on the form of the girl. 
The Indian uttered a few words to his companion, and re- 
sumed his seat and his meal as calmly as if no interruption 
had occurred. On the contrary,- the white man had left 
the fire and came forward to meet Mabel. 

The latter saw, as the stranger approached, that she was 
about to be addressed by one of her own color, though his 
dress was so strange a mixture of the habits of the two 
races that it required a near look to be certain of the fact. 
He was of middle age, but there was an open honesty, a 
total absence of guile, in his face, which otherwise would 
not have been thought handsome, that at once assured 
Magnet she was in no danger. Still she paused, in obedi- 
ence to a law of her habits, if not of nature, which rendered 
her adverse to the appearance of advancing too freely to 
meet one of the other sex, under the circumstances in 
which she was placed. 

“ Fear nothing, young woman,” said the hunter, for such 
his attire would indicate him to be; “you have met Chris- 
tian men in the wilderness, and such as know how to treat 
all kindly that are disposed to peace and justice. I'm a 
man well known in all these parts, and perhaps one of my 
names may have reached your ears. By the Frenchers, 
and the red-skins on the other side of the Big Lakes, I am 
called La Longue Carabine; by the Mohicans, a just- 
minded and upright tribe — what is left of them, Hawkeye; 
while the troops and rangers along this side of the water 
called me Pathfinder, inasmuch as I have never been known 
to miss one end of the trail when there was a Mingo or a 
friend who stood in need of me at the other.” 

This was not uttered boastfully, but with the honest 
confidence, of one who we 11 knew that, by whatever name 
others might have heard of him, he had no reason to blush 
at the reports. The effect on Mabel was instantaneous. 
The moment she heard the last sobriquet , she clasped her 
hands eagerly and repeated the word : 

“ Pathfinder! ” 

“ So they call me, young woman, and many a great lord 
has got a title that he did not half as well merit; though, 
if truth be said, I rather pride myself in finding my way 


THE PATHFINDER. 


*9 


v. here there is no path than in finding it where there is. 
But the regular troops are by no means particular, and 
half the time they don’t know the difference atween a trail 
and a path, though one is a matter for the eye, while the 
other is little more than scent.” 

“ Then you are the friend my father promised to send to 
meet us! ” 

“ If you are Sergeant Dunham’s daughter, the great 
Prophet of the Delawares never uttered a plainer truth.” 

“ I am Mabel, and yonder, hid by the trees, are my uncle, 
whose name is Cap, and a Tuscarora, called Arrowhead. 
We did not hope to meet you until we had nearly reached 
the shores of the lake.” 

“I wish a juster-minded Indian had been your guide,” 
said Pathfinder, “ for I am no lover of the Tuscaroras, 
who have travelled too far from the graves of their fathers 
to always remember the Great Spirit: and Arrowhead is 
an ambitious chief. Is Dew-of-June with him ? ” 

“ His wife accompanies us, and an humble and mild 
creature she is.” 

“Ay, and true-hearted; which is more than any who 
know’ him will say of Arrowhead. Well we must take the 
fare that Providence bestows while we follow the trail of 
life. I suppose worse guides might have been found than 
the Tuscarora; though he has too much Mingo blood for 
one who consorts altogether with the Delawares.” 

“ It is then, perhaps, fortunate we have met,” said Mabel. 

“ It is not misfortunate at any rate, for I promised the 
sergeant I would see his child safe to the garrison, though 
I died for it. We expected to meet you before you reached 
the falls, where we have left our own canoe; while we 
thought it might do no harm to come up a few miles in 
order to be of service if wanted. It’s lucky we did, for I 
doubt if Arrowhead be the man to shoot the current.” 

“ Here comes my uncle and the Tuscarora, and our par- 
ties can now join.” 

As Mabel concluded, Cap and Arrowhead, who saw that 
the conference was amicable, drew nigh, and a few words 
sufficed to let them know as much as the girl herself had 
learned from the strangers. As soon as this was done, the 
party proceeded toward the two who still remained near 
the fire. 


2 ( 


THE PATHFINDER. 


CHAPTER II. 

41 Yea ! long as Nature’s humblest child 
Hath kept her temple undefiled 
By simple sacrifice, 

Earth’s fairest scenes are all his own, 

He is a monarch, and his throne 

Is built among the skies ! ” — Wilson. 

The Mohican continued to eat, though the second white- 
man rose and courteously took off his cap to Mabel Dun- 
ham. He was young, healthful, and manly in appearance: 
and he wore a dress which, while it was less rigidly pro- 
fessional than that of the uncle, also denoted one accus- 
tomed to the water. In that age real seamen were a class 
entirely apart from the rest of mankind ; their ideas, or- 
dinary language, and attire being as strongly indicative 
of their calling as the opinions, speech, and dress of a 
Turk denote a Mussulman. Although the Pathfinder was 
scarcely in the prime of life, Mabel had met him with a 
steadiness that may have been the consequence of having 
braced her nerves for the interview; but, when her eyes 
encountered those of the young man at the fire, they fell 
before the gaze of admiration with which she saw, or 
fancied she saw, he greeted her. Each, in truth, felt that 
interest in the other which similarity of age, condition, 
mutual comeliness, and their novel situation would be 
likely to inspire in the young and ingenuous. 

“Here,” said Pathfinder, with an honest smile bestowed 
on Mabel, “ are the friends your worthy father has sent to 
meet you. This is a great Delaware ; and one that has 
had honors as well as troubles in his day. He has an 
Injin name fit for a chief, but as the language is not always 
easy for the inexperienced to pronounce, we nat’rally turn 
it into English, and call him the Big Serpent. You are 
not to suppose, however, that by this name we wish to say 
that he is treacherous, beyond what is lawful in a red-skin, 
but that he is wise, and has the cunning that becomes a 
warrior. Arrowhead, there, knows what I mean/’ 


THE PATHFINDER. 


21 


While the Pathfinder was delivering this address, the 
two Indians gazed on each other steadily, and the Tusca- 
rora advanced and spoke to the other in apparently friendly 
manner. 

“I like to see this,” continued Pathfinder; “the salutes 
of two red-skins in the woods, master Cap, are like the 
hailing of friendly vessels on the ocean. But, speaking of 
water, it reminds me of my young friend, Jasper Western, 
here, who can claim to know something of these matters, 
seeing that he has passed his days on Ontario.” 

“I am glad to see you, friend,” said Cap, giving the 
young fresh-water sailor a cordial gripe ; “ though you must 
have something still to learn, considering the school to 
which you have been sent. This is my niece, Mabel — I 
call her Magnet, for a reason she never dreams of, though 
you may possibly have education enough to guess at it, 
having some pretensions to understand the compass, I 
suppose.” 

“The reason is easily comprehended,” said the young 
man, involuntarily fastening his keen dark eye at the same 
time on the suffused face of the girl; “’and I feel sure that 
the sailor who steers by your Magnet will never make a 
bad land-fall.” 

“Ha! you do make use of some of the terms, I find, 
and that with propriety and understanding ; though, on the 
whole, I fear that you have seen more green than blue 
water.” > 

“ It is not surprising that we should get some of the 
phrases that belong to the land, for we are seldom out of 
sight of it twenty-four hours at a time.” 

“More’s the pity, boy; more’s the pity. A very little 
land ought to go a great way with a seafaring man. Now, 
if the truth were known, Master Western, I suppose there 
is more or less land all round your lake.” 

“ And, uncle, is there not more or less land all round 
the ocean ?” said Magnet, quickly; for she dreaded a pre- 
mature display of the old seaman’s peculiar dogmatism, 
not to say pedantry. 

“No, child, there is more or less ocean all round the 
land! that’s what I tell the people ashore, youngster. 
They are living, as it might be, in the midst of the sea, 
without knowing it — by sufferance, as it were, the water 


22 


THE PATHFINDER. 


being so much the more powerful, and the largest. But 
there’s no end to conceit in this world, for a fellow who 
never saw salt water often fancies he knows more than one 
who had gone round the Horn No — no — this earth is 
pretty much an island, and all that can be truly said not 
to be so is water.” 

Young Western had a profound deference for a mariner 
of the ocean, on which he had often pined to sail; but he 
had, also, a natural regard for the broad sheet on which 
he had passed his life, and which was not without its 
beauties in his eyes. 

“What you say, sir,” he answered modestly, “ may be 
true, as to the Atlantic; but we have a respect for the 
land up here, on Ontario.” 

“That is because you are all always land-locked,” re- 
turned Cap, laughing heartily. “ But yonder is the Path- 
finder, as they call him, with some smoking platters, in- 
viting us to share in his mess; and I will confess that one 
gets no venison at sea. Master Western, civility to girls 
at your time of life comes as easy as taking in the slack 
of the ensign halyards; and if you will just keep an eye to 
her kid and can while I join the mess of the Pathfinder 
and our Indian friends, I make no doubt she will remem- 
ber it.” 

Master Cap uttered more than he was aware of at the 
time. Jasper Western did look to the wants of Mabel, 
and she long remembered the kind, manly attention, of the 
young sailor at this their first interview. He placed the 
end of a log for a seat, obtained for her a delicious morsel 
of the venison, gave her a draught of pure water from the 
spring, and, as he sat near and opposite to her, fast won 
his way to her esteem by his gentle but frank manner of 
manifesting his care; homage that woman always wishes 
to receive, but which is never so flattering or so agreeable 
as when it comes from the young to those of their own 
age; from the manly to the gentle. Like most of those 
who pass their time excluded from the society of the softer 
sex, young Western was earnest, sincere, and kind in his 
attentions, which, though they wanted a conventional re- 
finement that perhaps Mabel never missed, had those 
winning qualities that prove very sufficient as substitutes. 
Leaving these two inexperienced and unsophisticated young 


THE PATHFINDER. 


23 

people cc oecome acquainted through their feelings rather 
than their expressed thoughts, we will turn to the group 
in which the uncle, with a facility of taking care of himself 
that never deserted him, had already become a principal 
actor. 

The party had taken up their places around a platter of 
venison-steaks, which served for the common use, and the 
discourse naturally partook of the characters of the differ- 
ent individuals that composed it. The Indians were silent 
and industrious, the appetite of the aboriginal Americans 
for venison being seemingly inappeasable ; while the two 
white men were communicative and discursive, each of the 
latter being garrulous and opinionated in his way. But, 
as the dialogue will serve to put the reader in possession 
of certain facts that may render the succeeding narrative 
more clear, it will be well to record it. 

“ There must be satisfaction in this life of yours, no 
doubt, Mr. Pathfinder,” continued Cap, when the hunger 
of the travellers was so far appeased that they began to 
pick and choose among the savory morsels; “it has some 
of the chances and luck that we seamen like ; and if ours 
is all water, yours is all land.” 

“ Nay, we have water, too, in our journeyings and 
marches,” returned his white companion; “we bordermen 
handle the paddle and the spear almost as much as the 
rifle and the hunting-knife.” 

“ Ay ; but do you handle the brace and the bowline ; the 
wheel and the lead-line; the reef-point and the top-rope ? 
The paddle is a good thing out of doubt in a canoe, but 
of what use is it in the ship ? ” 

“ Nay, I respect all men in their callings, and I can be- 
lieve the things you mention have their uses. One who 
has lived, like myself, in company with many tribes un- 
derstands differences in usages. The paint of a Mingo is 
not the paint of a Delaware; and he who should expect to 
see a warrior in the dress of a squaw might be disap- 
pointed. I’m not very old, but I have lived in the woods, 
and have some acquaintance with human natur’. I never 
believed much in the learning of them that dwell in towns, 
for I never yet met with one that had an eye for a rifle or 
a trail.” 

“That’s my manner of reasoning, Master Pathfinder, to 


24 


THE PATHFINDER. 


a yarn. Walking about streets, going to churcn of Sun- 
days, and hearing sermons never yet made a man of a 
human being. Send the boy out upon the broad ocean 
if you wish to open his eyes, and let him look upon foreign 
nations, or what I call the face of natur’, if you wish him 
to understand his own character. Now, there is my 
brother-in-law, the sergeant — he is as good a fellow as ever 
broke a biscuit, in his own way; but what is he, after all ? 
why, nothing but a soldier. A sergeant — to be sure, but 
that is a sort of a soldier, you know. When he wished to 
marry poor Bridget, my sister, I told the girl what he was, 
as in duty bound, and what she might expect from such 
a husband; but you know how it is with girls when their 
minds are jammed by an inclination. It is true, the ser- 
geant has risen to his calling, and they say he is an im- 
portant man at the fort; but his poor wife has not lived 
to see it at all, for she has now been dead these fourteen 
years.” 

“ A soldier’s calling is an honorable calling, provided he 
has fi’t only on the side of right,” returned the Pathfinder; 
“ and as the Frenchers are always wrong, and his sacred 
Majesty and these Colonies are always right, I take it the 
sergeant has a quiet conscience, as well as a good charac- 
ter. I have never slept more sweetly than when I have 
fi’t the Mingoes, though it is the law with me to fight 
always like a white man, and never like an Injin. The 
Sarpent, here, has his fashions, and I have mine; yet have 
we fou’t side by side, these many years, without either’s 
thinking a hard thought consarning the other’s ways. I 
tell him there is but one heaven and one hell, notwith- 
standing his traditions, though there are many paths to 
both.” 

“ That is rational, and he is bound to believe you, though 
I fancy most of the roads to the last are on dry land. The 
sea is what my poor sister Bridget used to call a ‘puri- 
fying-place,’ and one is out of the way of temptation when 
out of sight of land. I doubt if as much can be said in 
favor of your lakes, up here-away. ” 

“That towns and settlements lead to sin, I will allow; 
but our lakes are bordered by the forests, and one is every 
day called upon to worship God in such a temple. That 
men are not always the same, even in the wilderness, I 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2 5 


must admit, for the difference atween a Mingo and a Dela- 
ware is as plain to be seen as the difference atween the sun 
and moon. I am glad, friend Cap, that we have met, 
however, if it be only that you may tell the Big Sarpent, 
here, that there be lakes in which the water is salt. We 
have been pretty much of one mind since our acquaintance 
begun, and, if the Mohican has only half the faith in me 
that I have in him, he believes all that I have told him 
touching the white man’s ways and nature’s laws; but it 
has always seemed to me that none of the red-skins have 
given as free a belief as an honest man likes to the ac- 
counts of the Big Salt Lakes, and to that of there being 
rivers that flow up-stream.” 

“This comes of getting things wrong end foremost,” 
answered Cap, with a condescending nod. “You have 
thought of your lakes and rifts, as the ship; and of the 
ocean and the tides, as the boat. Neither Arrowhead nor 
the Sarpent need doubt what you have said concerning 
both, though I confess, myself, to some difficulty in swal- 
lowing the tale about there being inland seas at all, and 
still more that there is any fresh water. I have come this 
long journey as much to satisfy my own eyes and palate 
concerning these facts as to oblige the sergeant and Mag- 
net; though the first was my sister’s husband, and I love 
the last like a child.” 

“ You are wrong — you are wrong, friend Cap, very wrong 
to distrust the power of God, in anything,” returned Path- 
finder earnestly. “ Them that live in the settlements and 
the towns get to have confined and unjust opinions con- 
sarning the might of his hand, but we who pass our time 
in his very presence, as it might be, see things differently 
— I mean such of us as have white natur’s. A red-skin 
has his notions, and it is right that it should be so; and 
if they are not exactly the same as a Christian white man’s, 
there is no harm in it. Still, there are matters that belong 
altogether to the ordering of God’s providence — and these 
salt and fresh water lakes are some of them. I do not 
pretend to account for these things, but I think it the duty 
of all to believe in them. For my part, I am one of them 
who think that the same hand which made the sweet water 
can make the salt.” 

“Hold on there, Master Pathfinder,” interrupted Cap, 


2.6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


not without some heat ; “ in the way of a proper and marily 
faith, I will turn my back on no one when afloat. Al- 
though more accustomed to make all snug aloft and to 
show the proper canvas than to pray, when the hurricane 
comes, I know that we are but helpless mortals at times, 
and I hope I pay reverence where reverence is due. All I 
mean to say, and that is rather insiniated than said, is this: 
which is, as you all know, simply an intimation that, being 
accustomed to see water in large bodies salt, I should like 
to taste it before I can believe it to be fresh." 

“ God has given the salt lick to the deer, and he has 
given to man, red-skin and white, the delicious spring at 
which to slake his thirst. It is unreasonable to think that 
he may not have given lakes of pure water to the west, 
and lakes of impure water to the east.” 

Cap was awed, in spite of his overweening dogmatism, 
by the earnest simplicity of the Pathfinder, though he did 
not relish the idea of believing a fact which for many 
years he had pertinaciously insisted could not be true. 
Unwilling to give up the point, and at the same time 
unable to maintain it against a reasoning to which he was 
unaccustomed, and which possessed equally the force of 
truth and probability, he was glad to get rid of the sub- 
ject by evasion. 

“ Well, well, friend Pathfinder,” he said, “ we will nipper 
the argument where it is; and, as the sergeant has sent 
you to give us pilotage to this same lake, we can only try 
the water when we reach it. Only mark my words — I do 
not say that it may not be fresh on the surface; the At- 
lantic is sometimes fresh on the surface, near the mouths 
of great rivers; but rely on it, I shall show you a way of 
tasting the water many fathoms deep, of which you never 
dreamed; and then we shall know more about it.” 

The guide seemed content to let the matter rest, and 
the conversation changed. 

“We are not over-consaited consarning our gifts,” ob- 
served the Pathfinder, after a short pause, “ and well know 
that such as live in the towns near the sea ” 

“ On the sea,” interrupted Cap. 

“ On the sea, if you wish it, friend, have opportunities 
that do not befall us of the wilderness. Still, we know 
our own callings, and they are what I consider nat’ral 


THE PATHFINDER. 


*7 


callings, and are not parvarted by vanity and wantonness. 
Now my gifts are with the rifle, and on a trail, and in the 
way of game and scoutin’ ; for, though I can use the spear 
and the paddle, I pride not myself on either. The youth, 
Jasper, there, who is discoursing with the sergeant’s daugh- 
ter, is a different creatur’, for he may be said to breathe 
the water, as it might be, like a fish. The Indians and 
Frenchers of the north shore call him Eau-douce, on ac- 
count of his gifts in this particular. He is better at the 
oar and the rope, too, than in making fires on a trail.” 

“ There must be something about these gifts of which 
you speak, after all,” said Cap. “ Now, this fire, I will ac- 
knowledge, has overlaid all my seamanship. Arrowhead, 
there, said the smoke came form a pale-face’s fire, and 
that is a piece of philosophy that I hold to be equal to 
Steering in a dark night by the edges of the scud.” 

“It’s no great secret — it’s no great secret,” returned 
Pathfinder, laughing with great inward glee, though habit- 
ual caution prevented the emission of any noise. “ Nothing 
is easier to us who pass our time in the great school of 
Providence than to l’arn its lessons. We should be as 
useless on a trail, or in carrying tidings through the wil- 
derness, as so many woodchucks, did we not soon come to 
a knowledge of these niceties. Eau-douce, as we call him, 
is so fond of the water that he gathered a damp stick or 
two for our fire, and there be plenty of them, as well as 
those that are thoroughly dried, lying scattered about ; and 
wet will bring dark smoke, as I suppose even you followers 
of the sea must know. It’s no great secret — its’s no great 
secret — though all is mystery to such as doesn’t study the 
Lord and his mighty ways with humility and thankfulness.” 

“That must be a keen eye of Arrowhead’s to see so 
Slight a difference.” 

“He would be but a poor Injun if he didn’t! No, no; 
it is war time, and no red-skin is outlying without using 
his senses. Every skin has its own natur’, and every 
natur’ has its own laws, as well as its own skin. It was 
many years afore I could master all them higher branches 
Of a forest edication, for red-skin knowledge doesn’t come 
as easy to white-skin natur’, or what I suppose is intended 
to be white-skin knowledge; though I have but little of 
the latter, having passed most of my time in the wilder- 
ness ” 


*8 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ You have been a ready scholar, Master Pathfinder, as 
is seen by your understanding these things so well. I 
suppose it would be no great matter, for a man regularly 
brought up to the sea, to catch these trifles, if he could 
only bring his mind fairly to bear upon them/’ 

“ I don’t know that. The white man has his difficulties 
in getting red-skin habits, quite as much as the Injin in 
getting white-skin ways. As for the real natur’, it is my 
opinion that neither can actually get that of the other. ” 

“ And yet we sailors, who run about the world so much, 
say there is but one natur’, whether it be in the Chinaman 
or a Dutchman. For my own part, I am much of that 
way of thinking, too; for I have generally found that all 
nations like gold and silver, and most men relish tobacco.” 

“ Then you seafaring men know little of the red-skins. 
Have you ever known any of your Chinamen who could 
sing their death-songs, with their flesh torn with splinterr 
and cut with knives, the fire raging around their naked 
bodies, and death staring them in the face ? Until you 
can find me a Chinaman, or a Christian man, that can do 
all this, you cannot find a man with red-skin natur’, let 
him look ever so valiant, or know how to read all the 
books that was ever printed.” 

“ It is the savages only that play each other such hellish 
tricks! ” said Master Cap, glancing his eyes about him un- 
easily at the apparently endless arches of the forest. “ No 
white man is ever condemned to undergo these trials.” 

“Nay, therein you are ag’in mistaken,” returned the 
Pathfinder, coolly selecting a delicate morsel of the veni- 
son as his bonne bouche ; “ for, though these torments belong; 
only to the red-skin natur, ’ in the way of bearing them: 
like braves, white-skin natur’ may be, and often has been, 
agonized by them.” 

“Happily,” said Cap, with an effort to clear his throat, 
“ none of his Majesty’s allies will be likely to attempt such 
damnable cruelties on any of his Majesty’s loyal subjects. 
I have not served much in the royal navy, it is true ; bat 
I have served — and that is something; and in the way of 
privateering and worrying the enemy in his ships and 
cargoes, I’ve done my full share. But I trust there are 
no French savages on this side the lake, and I think you 
said that Ontario is a broad sheet of water ? ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2 9 


cc Nay, it is broad in our eyes," returned Pathfinder, not 
.earing to conceal the smile which lighted a face that had 
been burnt, by exposure, to a bright red, “ though I mis- 
trust that some may think it narrow; and narrow it is, if 
you wish it to keep off the foe. Ontario has two ends, and 
the enemy that is afraid to cross it will be sartin to come 
round it." 

“Ah! that comes of your d — d fresh-water ponds!" 
growled Cap, hemming so loud as to cause him instantly 
to repent the indiscretion. “No man, now, ever heard of 
a pirate’s or a ship’s getting round one end of the Atlan- 
tic! " 

“ Mayhap the ocean has no ends ? " 

“ That it hasn’t, nor sides, nor bottom. The nation 
that is snugly moored on one of its coasts need fear nothing 
from the one anchored abeam, let it be ever so savage, 
unless it possesses the art of shipbuilding. No, no — the 
people who live on the shores of the Atlantic need fear 
but little for their skins or their scalps. A man may lie 
down at night, in those regions, in the hope of finding the 
hair on his head in the morning, unless he wears a wig." 

“ It isn't so here. I don’t wish to flurry the young wo- 
man, and therefore I will be no way particular — though 
she seems pretty much listening to Eau-douce, as we call 
him — but without the edication I have received, I should 
think it, at this very moment, a risky journey to go over 
the very ground that lies atween us and the garrison, in 
the present state of this frontier. There are about as 
many Iroquois on this side of Ontario as there be on the 
other. It is for this very reason, friend Cap, that the ser- 
geant has engaged us to come out and show you the path." 

“ What! — do the knaves dare to cruise so near the guns 
of one of his Majesty’s works ? " 

“ Do not the ravens resort near the carcass of the deer, 
though the fowler is at hand ? They come this-a-way, as 
it might be, nat’rally. There are more or less whites pass- 
ing atween the forts and the settlements, and they are sure 
to be on their trails. The Sarpent had come up on one 
side of the river, and I have come up the other, in order to 
scout for the outlying rascals, while Jasper brought up the 
canoe, like a bold-hearted sailor as he is. The sergeant 
told him with tears in his eyes, all about his child, and 


3 ° 


THE PATHFINDER. 


how his heart yearned for her, and how gentle and 
obedient she was, until I think the lad would have dashed 
into a Mingo camp single-handed, rather than not 
a-come. 

“We tftank him, and shall think the better of him for 
his readiness; though I suppose the boy has run no great 
risk, after all.” 

“ Only the risk of being shot from a cover, as he forced 
the canoe up a swift rift, or turned an elbow in the stream, 
with his eyes fastened on the eddies. Of all the risky 
journeys, that on an ambushed river is the most risky, in 
my judgment, and that risk has Jasper run.” 

“And why the devil has the Sergeant sent for me to 
travel a hundred andfifty miles in this outlandish manner? 
Give me an offing, and the enemy in sight, and I’ll play 
with him in his own fashion, as long as he pleases, long 
bows or close quarters ; but to be shot like a turtle asleep 
is not to my humour. If it were not for little Magnet 
there, I would tack ship this instant, make the best of 
my way back to York, and let Ontario take care of itself, 
salt water or fresh water.” 

“ That wouldn’t mend the matter much, friend mariner, 
as the road to return is much longer, and almost as bad 
as the road to go on. Trust to us, and we will carry you 
through safely, or lose our scalps.” 

Cap wore a tight solid queue, done up in eelskin, while 
the top of his head was nearly bald; and he mechanically 
passed his hand over both, as if to make certain that each 
was in its right place. He was at the bottom, however, 
a brave man, and had often faced death with coolness, 
though never in the frightful forms in which it presented 
itself under the brief but graphic picture of his companion. 
It was too late to retreat; and he determined to put the 
best face on the matter, though he could not avoid mut- 
tering inwardly a few curses on the indiscretion with 
which his brother-in-law, the Sergeant, had led him into 
his present dilemma. 

“ I make no doubt, Master Pathfinder,” he answered, 
when these thoughts had found time to glance through 
his mind, “ that we shall reach port in safety. What dis- 
tance may we now be from the fort?” 

“Little more than fifteen miles; and swift miles too. as 
the river runs, if the Mingos let us go clear.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 31 

“ And I suppose the woods will stretch along starboard 
and larboard, as heretofore?” 

“ Anan?” 

“ I mean that we shall have to pick our way through 
these d — d trees. ” 

“ Nay, nay, you will go in the canoe, and the Oswego 
has been cleared of its flood-wood by the troops. It will 
be floating down stream, and that, too, with a swift cur- 
rent. ” 

“And what the devil is to prevent these minks of 
which you speak from shooting us as we double a head- 
land, or are busy in steering clear of the rocks? ” 

“The Lord! — He who has so often helped others in 
greater difficulties. Many and many is the time that my 
head would have been stripped of hair, skin, and all, 
hadn’t the Lord fi’t of my side. I never go into a skrim- 
mage, friend mariner, without thinking of this great ally, 
who can do more in battle than all the battalions of the 
60th, were they brought into a single line.” 

“Ay, ay, this may do well enough for a scouter; but 
we seamen like our offing, and to go into action with 
nothing in our minds but the business before us — plain 
broadside and broadside work, and no trees or rocks to 
thicken the water.” 

“ And no Lord too, I dare to say, if the truth were 
known. Take my word for it, Master Cap, that no battle 
is the worse fi’t for having the Lord on your side. Look 
at the head of the Big Sarpent, there; you can see the 
mark of a knife all along by his left ear: now nothing but 
a bullet from this long rifle of mine saved his scalp that 
day; for it had fairly started, and half a minute more 
would have left him without the war-lock. When the 
Mohican squeezes my hand, and intermates that I be- 
friended him in that matter, I tell him no; it was the 
Lord who led me to the only spot where execution could 
be done, or his necessity be made known, on account of 
the smoke. Sartain, when I got the right position, I fin- 
ished the affair of my own accord. For a friend under 
the tomahawk is apt to make a man think quick and act 
at once, as was my case, or the Sarpent’s spirit would be 
hunting in the happy land of his people at this very 
moment ” 

“Come, come, Pathfinder, this palaver is worse than 


32 


THE PATHFINDER. 


being skinned from stem to stern: we have but a few 
hours of sun, and had better be drifting down this said 
current of yours while we may. Magnet, dear, are you 
not ready to get under way ? ” 

Magnet started, blushed brightly, and made her prepa- 
rations for an immediate departure. Not a syllable of the 
discourse just related had she heard, for Eau-douce, as 
young Jasper was oftener called than anything else, had 
been filling her ears with a description of the yet distant 
port toward which she was journeying, with accounts of 
her father, whom she had not seen since a child, and with 
the manner of life of those who lived in the frontier garri- 
sons. Unconsciously, she had become deeply interested, 
and her thoughts had been too intently directed to these 
interesting matters to allow any of the less agreeable sub- 
jects discussed by those so near to reach her ears. The 
bustle of departure put an end to the conversation entirely, 
and, the baggage of the scouts or guides being trifling, 
in a few minutes the whole party was ready to proceed. 
As they were about to quit the spot, however, to the sur- 
prise of even his fellow-guides, Pathfinder collected a 
quantity of branches, and threw them upon the embers of 
the fire, taking care even to see that some of the wood 
was damp, in order to raise as dark and dense a smoke as 
possible. 

“When you can hide your trail, Jasper,” he said, “a 
smoke at leaving an encampment may do good, instead of 
harm. If there are a dozen Mingoes within ten miles of 
us, some on ’em are on the heights, or in the trees, lock- 
ing out for smokes: let them see this, and much good may 
it do them. They are welcome to our leavings.” 

“But may they not strike and follow on our trail?” 
asked the youth, whose interest in the hazard of his situa- 
tion had much increased since the meeting with Magnet* 
“We shall leave a broad path to the river.” 

“The broader the better; when there, it will surpass 
Mingo cunning even, to say which way the canoe has 
gone — up-stream or down. Water is the only thing in 
natur* that will thoroughly wash out a trail, and even 
water will not always do it when the scent is strong. Do 
you not see, Eau-douce, that if any Mingoes have seen 
our path below the falls they will strike off toward this 


THE PATHFINDER. 


33 


smoke, and that they will nat’rally conclude that they who 
began by going up-stream will end by going up-stream ? 
If they knew anything, they now know a party is out from 
the fort, and it will exceed even Mingo wit to fancy that 
we have come up here, just for the pleasure of going back 
again, and that, too, the same day, and at the risk of our 
scalps. ” 

“ Certainly,” added Jasper, who was talking apart with 
the Pathfinder, as they moved toward the windrow, “ they 
cannot know anything about the sergeant’s daughter, for 
the greatest secrecy has been observed on her account.” 

“ And they will Tarn nothing here,” returned Pathfinder, 
causing his companion to see that he trod with the utmost 
care, on the impressions left on the leaves by the little 
foot of Mabel, “ unless this old salt-water fish has been 
taking his niece about the windrow, like a fa’n playing by 
the side of the old doe.” 

“Buck, you mean, Pathfinder.” 

“Isn’t he a queerity! Now I can consort with such a 
sailor as yourself, Eau-douce, and find nothing very con- 
trary in our gifts, though yours belong to the lakes and 
mine to the woods. Harkee, Jasper,” continued the scout, 
laughing in his noiseless manner; “suppose we try the 
temper of his blade, and run him over the falls ? ” 

“ And what would be done with the pretty niece in the 
mean while ? ” 

“ Nay, nay — no harm shall come to her; she must walk 
round the portage, at any rate; but you and I can try this 
Atlantic oceaner, and then all parties will become better 
acquainted. We shall find out whether his flint will strike 
fire, and he may come to know something of frontier 
tricks! ” 

Young Jasper smiled, for he was not averse to fun, and 
had been a little touched by Cap’s superciliousness; but 
Mabel’s fair face, light, agile form, and winning smiles 
stood like a shield between her uncle and the intended ex- 
periment. 

“Perhaps the sergeant’s daughter will be frightened,” 
he said. 

“ Not she, if she has any of the sergeant’s spirit in her. 
She doesn’t look like a skeary thing, at all. Leave it to 
me, Eau-douce, and I will manage the affair alon- ” 


34 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Not you, Pathfinder; you would only drown both. If 
the canoe goes over, I must go in it.” 

“Well, have it so, then; shall we smoke the pipe of 
agreement on the bargain ? ” 

Jasper laughed, nodded his head by way of consent, and 
the subject was dropped, for the party had reached the 
canoe, so often mentioned, and fewer words had deter- 
mined much greater things between the parties. 


CHAPTER III. 

** Before these fields were shorn and tilled, 

Full to the brim our rivers flowed; 

The melody of waters filled 
The fresh and boundless wood; 

And torrents dashed, and rivulets played, 

And fountains spouted in the shade.” — BRYANT, 

It is generally known that the waters which flow into 
the southern side of Ontario are, in general, narrow, slug- 
gish, and deep. There are some exceptions to this rule, 
for many of the rivers have rapids, or, as they are termed 
in the language of the region, rifts, and some have falls. 
Among the latter was the particular stream on which our 
adventurers were now journeying. The Oswego is formed 
by the junction of the Oneida and the Onondaga, both of 
which flow from lakes; and it pursues its way, through a 
gentle, undulating country, a few miles, until it reaches 
the margin of a sort of natural terrace, down which it 
tumbles some ten or fifteen feet, to another level, across 
which it glides, or glances, or pursues its course, with the 
silent, stealthy progress of deep water, until it throws its 
tribute into the broad receptacle of Ontario. The canoe 
in which Cap and his party had travelled from Fort Stan- 
wix, the last military station on the Mohawk, lay by the 
side of this river, and into it the whole party now entered, 
with the exception of Pathfinder, who remained on the 
land in order to shove the light vessel off. 

“ Let her starn drift down-stream, Jasper,” said the man 
of the woods to the young mariner of the lakes, who had 


35 


THE PATHFINDER. 


dispossessed Arrowhead of his paddle, and taking his own 
station as steersman ; “ let it go down with the current. 
Should any of them infarnals, the Mingoes, strike our 
trail or follow it to this point, they will not fail to look 
for the signs in the mud ; and if they discover that we have 
left the shore with the nose of the canoe up-stream, it is 
a nat’ral belief to think that we went that-a-way. ” 

This direction was followed; and giving a vigorous 
shove, the Pathfinder, who was in the flower of his strength 
and activity, made a leap, landing lightly, and without 
disturbing its equilibrium, in the bow of the canoe. As 
soon as it had reached the centre of the river, or the 
strength of the current, the boat was turned, and it began 
to glide noiselessly down the stream. 

The vessel in which Cap and his niece had embarked 
for their long and adventurous journey was one of the 
canoes of bark which the Indians are in the habit of con- 
structing, and which, by their exceeding lightness, and the 
ease with which they are propelled, are admirably adapted 
to a navigation in which shoals, floodwood, and other sim- 
ilar obstructions so often occur. The two men who com- 
posed its original crew had several times carried it, when 
emptied of its luggage, many hundred yards; and it would 
not have exceeded the strength of a single man to lift its 
weight. Still, it was long, and, for a canoe, wide, a want 
of steadiness being its principal defect in the eyes of the 
uninitiated. A few hours’ practice, however, in a great 
measure remedied this evil, and both Mabel and her uncle 
had learned so far to humor its movements that they now 
maintained their places with perfect composure; nor did 
the additional weight of three guides tax its powers in any 
particular degree, the breadth of the rounded bottom al- 
lowing the necessary quantity of water to be displaced, 
without bringing the gunwale very sensibly nearer to the 
surface of the stream. Its workmanship was neat; the 
timbers were small and secured by thongs; and the whole 
fabric, though it was so slight and precarious to the eye, 
was probably capable of conveying double the number of 
persons that it now contained. 

Cap was seated on a low thwart, in the centre of the 
canoe; the Big Serpent knelt near him. Arrowhead and 
his wife occupied places forward of both, the former hav* 


3 <> 


THE PATHFINDER. 


in g relinquished his post aft. Mabel was naif reclining on 
some of her own effects, behind her uncle, while the Path- 
finder and Eau-douce stood erect, the one in the bow and 
the other in the stern, each using a paddle, with a long, 
steady, noiseless sweep. The conversation was carried on 
in low tones, all the party beginning to feel the necessity 
of prudence, as they drew nearer to the outskirts of the 
fort, and had no longer the cover of the woods. 

The Oswego, just at that place, was a deep, dark stream 
of no great width, its still, gloomy-looking current wind- 
ing its way among overhanging trees, that, in particular 
spots, almost shut out the light of the heavens. Here and 
there some half-fallen giant of the forest lay nearly across 
its surface, rendering care necessary to avoid the limb; 
and, most of the distance, the lower branches and leaves 
of the trees of smaller growth were laved by its waters. 
The picture which has been so beautifully described by 
our own admirable poet, and which we have placed at the 
head of this chapter as an epigraph, was here realized; 
the earth, fattened by the decayed vegetation of centuries 
and black with loam, the stream that filled the banks nearly 
to overflowing, and the “ fresh and boundless wood ” being 
all as visible to the eye as the pen of Bryant has else- 
where vividly presented them to the imagination. In short, 
the entire scene was one of a rich and benevolent nature, 
before it had been subjected to the uses and desires of 
man; luxuriant, wild, full of promise, and not without the 
charm of the picturesque, even in its rudest state. It will 
be remembered that this was in the year 175-, or long 
before even speculation had brought any portion of west- 
ern New York within the bounds of civilization or the 
projects of the adventurous. At that distant day there 
were two great channels of military communication be- 
tween the inhabited portion of the Colony of New York 
and the frontiers that lay adjacent to the Canadas — that 
by lakes Champlain and George, and that by means of 
the Mohawk, Wook Creek, the Oneida, and the rivers we 
have been describing. Along both these lines of commu- 
nication, military posts had been established, though there 
existed a blank space of a hundred miles between the last 
fort at the head of the Mohawk and the outlet of the 
Oswego^ which embraced most of the distance that Cap 


THE PATHFINDER, 


37 


and Mabel had journeyed under the protection of Arrow- 
head. 

“I sometimes wish for peace again,” said the Path- 
finder, “ when one can range the forest without s’arching 
for any other inemy than the beasts and fishes. Ah’s me! 
many is the day that the Sarpent, there, and I have passed 
happily among the streams, living on venison, salmon, and 
trout, without thought of a Mingo or a scalp! I some- 
times wish that them blessed days might come back, for it 
is not my raal gift to slay my own kind. I’m sartain the 
sergeant’s daughter don’t think me a wretch that takes 
pleasure in preying on human natur’ ! ” 

At this remark, a sort of interrogatory, Pathfinder looked 
behind him; and, though the most partial friend could 
even scarcely term his sunburnt and hard features hand- 
some, Mabel thought his smile attractive by its simple in- 
genuousness, and the uprightness that beamed in every 
lineament of his honest countenance. 

“ I do not think my father would have sent one like 
those you mention to see his daughter through the wilder- 
ness,” the young woman answered, returning the smile as 
frankly as it was given, and much more sweetly. 

“That he wouldn’t, that he wouldn’t: the sergeant is a 
man of feelin’, and many is the march and the fight that 
we have stood shoulder to shoulder in, ais we would call it 
— though I would always keep my limbs free when near a 
Frencher or a Mingo.” 

“ You are, then, the young friend of wihom my father has 
spoken so often in his letters ? ” 

“ His young friend — the sergeant hasj the advantage of 
me by thirty years; yes, he is thirty years my senior, and 
as many my better.” 

“ Not in the eyes of the daughter, perhaps, friend Path- 
finder,” put in Cap, whose spirits began to revive when he 
found the water once more flowing around him. “ The 
thirty years that you mention are not often thought to be 
an advantage in the eyes of girls of nineteen.” 

Mabel colored, and, in turning aside her face to avoid 
the looks of those in the bow of the canoe, she encountered 
the admiring gaze of the young man in the stern. As a 
last resource, her spirited but soft blue eyes sought refuge 
in the water. Just at this moment a dull, heavy sound 


33 


THE PATHFINDER. 


swept up the avenue formed by the trees, borne along by 
a light air that hardly produced a ripple on the water. 

u That sounds pleasantly,” said Cap, pricking up his 
ears like a dog that hears a distant baying; “ it is the surf 
on the shores of your lake, I suppose ? ” 

“Not so — not so,” answered the Pathfinder; “it is 
merely this river tumbling over some rocks half a mile 
below us.” 

“ Is there a fall in the stream ? ” demanded Mabel, a still 
brighter flush glowing in her face. 

“The devil! Master Pathfinder — or you, Mr. Oh!-the- 
deuce” (for so Cap began to style Jasper by way of en- 
tering cordially into the border usages), “had you not 
better give the canoe a sheer, and get nearer to the shore ? 
These waterfalls have generally rapids above them, and 
one might as well get into the Maelstrom at once as to run 
into their suction.” 

“Trust to us — trust to us, friend Cap,” answered Path- 
finder; “ we are but fresh-water sailors, it is true, and I 
cannot boast of being much, even of that; but we under- 
stand rifts and rapids and cataracts; and in going down 
these, we shall do our endivors not to disgrace our edica- 
tion.” 

“In going down!” exclaimed Cap; “the devil, man! 
you do not dream of going down a waterfall, in this egg- 
shell of bark ? ” 

“Sartain; the path lies over the falls, and it is much- 
easier to shoot them than to unload the canoe, and to 
carry that, and all it contains, around a portage of a mile y 
by hand.” 

Mabel turned her pallid countenance toward the young 
man in the stern of the canoe, for just at that moment a 
fresh roar of the fall was borne to her ears by a new cur- 
rent of the air, and it really sounded terrific, now that the 
cause was understood. 

“We thought that by landing the females and the two 
Indians,” Jasper quietly observed, “we three white men, 
all of whom are used to the water, might carry the canoe 
over in safety, for we often shoot these falls.” 

“And we counted on you, friend mariner, as a main- 
stay,” said Pathfinder, winking at Jasper over his shoulder; 
“ for you are accustomed to see waves tumbling about, and. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


39 


without some one to steady the cargo, all the finery of the 
sergeant’s daughter might be washed into the river and be 
tost.” 

Cap was puzzled. The idea of going over a waterfall 
was perhaps more serious, in his eyes, than it would have 
been in those of one totally ignorant of all that pertained 
to boasts; for he understood the power of the element, and 
the total feebleness of man when exposed to its fury. 
Still, his pride revolted at the thought of deserting the 
boat while others not only courageously but coolly pro- 
posed to continue in it. Notwithstanding the latter feel- 
ing, and his innate as well as acquired steadiness in danger, 
he would probably have deserted his post, had not the 
images of Indians tearing scalps from the human head 
taken so strong hold of his fancy as to induce him to im- 
agine the canoe a sort of sanctuary. 

“ What is to be done with Magnet ? ” he demanded, 
affection for his niece raising another qualm in his con- 
science. “We cannot allow Magnet to land if there are 
enemy’s Indians near.” 

“ Nay — no Mingo will be near the portage, for that is a 
spot too public for their deviltries,” answered the Path- 
finder, confidently. “Natur’ is natur’, and it is an Injin’s 
natur’ to be found where he is least expected. No fear of 
him on a beaten path, for he wishes to come upon you 
when unprepared to meet him, and the fiery villains make 
it a point to deceive you one way or another. Sheer in, 
Eau-douce; we will land the sergeant’s daughter on the 
end of that log, where she can reach the shore with a dry 
foot.” 

The injunction was obeyed, and in a few minutes the 
whole party had left the canoe, with the exception of Path- 
finder and the two sailors. Notwithstanding his profes- 
sional pride, Cap would have gladly followed, but he did 
not like to exhibit so unequivocal a weakness in the pres- 
ence of a fresh-water sailor. 

“ I call all hands to witness,” he said, as those who had 
landed moved away, “ that I do not look on this affair as 
anything more than canoeing in the woods. There is no 
seamanship in tumbling over a waterfall, which is a feat 
the greatest lubber can perform as well as the oldest mar- 
iner. ’* 


40 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“Nay, nay, you needn't despise the Oswego Falls* 
neither,” put in Pathfinder; “for, though they may not be 
Niagara, nor the Genesee, nor the Cahoos, nor Glenn's, 
nor them on the Canada, they are narvous enough for a 
new beginner. Let the sergeant’s daughter stand on yon- 
der rock, and she will see the manner in which we ignorant 
backwoodsmen get over a difficulty that we can't get under. 
Now, Eau-douce, a steady hand and a true eye, for all rests 
on you, seeing that we can count Master Cap for no more 
than a passenger.” 

The canoe was leaving the shore as he concluded, while 
Mabel went hurriedly and trembling to the rock that had 
been pointed out, talking to her companion of the danger 
her uncle so unnecessarily ran, while her eyes were riveted 
on the agile and vigorous form of Eau-douce as he stood 
erect in the stern of the light boat, governing its move- 
ments. As soon, however, as she reached a point where 
she got a view of the fall, she gave an involuntary but sup- 
pressed scream, and covered her eyes. At the next in- 
stant, the latter were again free, and the entranced girl 
stood immovable as a statue, a scarcely breathing obsever 
of all that passed. The two Indians seated themselves 
passively on a log, hardly looking toward the stream, while 
the wife of Arrowhead came near Mabel, and appeared to 
watch the motions of the canoe with some such interest as 
a child regards the leaps of a tumbler. 

As soon as the boat was in the stream, Pathfinder sank 
on his knees, continuing to use the paddle, though it was 
slowly, and in a manner not to interfere with the efforts of 
his companion. The latter still stood erect, and, as he 
kept his eye on some object beyond the fall, it was evi- 
dent that he was carefully looking for the spot proper for 
their passage. 

“Farther west, boy; farther west,” muttered Path- 
finder; “there where you see the water foam. Bring the 
top of the dead oak in a line with the stem of the blasted 
hemlock.” 

Eau-douce made no answer, for the canoe was in the 
centre of the stream, with its head pointed toward the fall, 
and it had already begun to quicken its motion by the in- 
creased force of the current. At that moment Cap would 
cheerfully have renounced every claim to glory that ^ould 


Ixi £ PATHFINDER. 


41 


possibly be acquired by the feat, to have been sate again 
on shore. He heard the roar of the water, thundering, as 
it might be, behind a screen, but becoming more and more 
distinct, louder and louder; and before him he saw its line 
cutting the forest below, along which the green and angry 
element seemed stretched and shining, as if the particles 
were about to lose their principles of cohesion. 

“ Down with your helm — down with your helm, man ! 99 
he exclaimed, unable any longer to suppress his anxiety, 
as the canoe glided toward the edge of the fall. 

“Ay — ay — down it is, sure enough," answered Path- 
finder, looking behind him for a single instant, with his 
silent, joyous laugh — “ down we go of a sartainty ! Heave 
her starn up, boy — farther up with her starn! ” 

The rest was like the passage of the viewless wind. 
Eau-douce gave the required sweep with his paddle, the 
canoe glanced into the channel, and for a few seconds it 
seemed to Cap that he was tossing in a cauldron. He felt 
the bow of the canoe tip, saw the raging, foaming water 
careering madly by his side, was sensible that the light 
fabric in which he floated was tossed about like an egg- 
shell; and then, not less to his great joy than to his sur- 
prise, he discovered that it was gliding across the basin of 
still water below the fall, under the steady impulse of 
Jasper’s paddle. 

The Pathfinder continued to laugh, but he rose from his 
knees, and, searching for a tin pot and a horn spoon, he 
began deliberately to measure the water that had been 
taken in the passage. 

“Fourteen spoonfuls, Eau-douce; fourteen fairly meas- 
ured spoonfuls. I have, you must acknowledge, known 
you to go down with only ten." 

“Master Cap leaned so hard up-stream," returned Jas- 
per, seriously, “ that I had difficulty in trimming the canoe/' 

“ It may be so — it may be so ; no doubt it was so, since 
you say it; but I have known you go over with only ten." 

Cap now gave a tremendous hem, felt for his cue, as it 
if to ascertain its safety, and then looked back, in order to 
examine the danger he had gone through. His importunity 
is easily explained. Most of the river fell perpendicularly 
ten or twelve feet; but near its centre, the force of the cur- 
rent had so far worn away the rock as to permit the water 


42 


THE PATHFINDER. 


to shoot through a narrow passage, at an angle of about, 
forty or forty-five degrees. Down this ticklish descent the 
canoe had glanced, amid fragments of broken rock, whirl- 
pools, foam, and furious tossings of the element, which 
an uninstructed eye would believe menaced inevitable de- 
struction to an object so fragile. But the very lightness 
of the canoe favored its descent; for, borne on the crest 
of the waves and directed by a steady eye and an arm full 
of muscle, it had passed like a feather from one pile of 
foam to another, scarcely permitting its glossy side to be 
wetted. There were a few rocks to be avoided ; the proper 
direction was to be rigidly observed, and the fierce current 
did the rest.* 

To say that Cap was astonished would not be express- 
ing half his feelings. He felt awed, for the profound 
dread of rocks which most seamen entertain came in aid 
of his admiration of the boldness of the exploit. Still he 
was indisposed to express all he felt, lest he might be con- 
ceding too much in favor of fresh water and inland navi- 
gation : and no sooner had he cleared his throat with the 
aforesaid hem, than he loosened his tongue in the usual 
strain of superiority. 

“ I do not gainsay your knowledge of the channel, Mas- 
ter Oh !-the-Deuce ” (for such he religiously believed to be 
Jasper’s sobriquef ) ; “and, after all, to know the channel in 
such a place is the main point. I have had coxswains with 
me who could come down that shoot too, if they only knew 
the channel. ” 

“It isn’t enough to know the channel, friend mariner , ” 
said Pathfinder; “it needs narves and skill to keep the 
canoe straight and to keep her clear of the rocks, too. 
There isn’t another boatman in all this region that can 
shoot the Oswego but Eau-douce, there, with any sar- 
tainty; though, now and then one has blundered through. 

I can’t do it myself, unless by means of Providence, and 
it needs Jasper’s hand and Jasper’s eye to make sure of a 
dry passage. Fourteen spoonfuls, after all, are no great 
matter, though I wish it had been but ten, seeing that the 
sergeant’s daughter was a looker-on.” 

* Lest the reader suppose we are dealing purely in fiction, the writer 
will add that he has known a long thirty-two pounder carried over these 
sair> A falls in perfect safety. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


43 


“ And yet you conned the canoe; you told him how to 
head and how to sheer.” 

“ Human frailty, master mariner; that was a little of 
white-skin natur’. Now, had the Sarpent, yonder, been 
in the boat, not a word would he have spoken, or thought 
would he have given to the public. An In jin knows how 
to hold his tongue; but we white folk fancy we are always 
wiser than our fellows. I’m curing myself fast of the 
weakness, but it needs time to root up the tree that has 
been growing more than thirty years.” 

“ I think little of this affair, sir; nothing at all, to speak 
my mind freely. It’s a mere wash of spray to shooting 
London Bridge, which is done every day by hundreds of 
persons, and often by the most delicate ladies in the land. 
The king’s majesty has shot the bridge in his royal person. ” 

“Well, I want no delicate ladies or kings’ majesties 
(God bless ’em!) in the canoe in going over these falls; 
for a boat’s breadth either way may make a drowning 
matter of it. Eau-douce, we shall have to carry the ser- 
geant’s brother over Niagara yet, to show him what may 
be done on the frontier! ” 

“The devil! Master Pathfinder, you must be joking 
now. Surely it is not possible for a bark canoe to go over 
that mighty cataract! ” 

“You never were more mistaken, Master Cap, in your 
life. Nothing is easier, and many is the canoe I have seen 
go over it, with my own eyes; and if we both live, I hope 
to satisfy you that the feat can be done. For my part, I 
think the largest ship that ever sailed on the ocean might 
be carried over, could she once get into the rapids.” 

Cap did not perceive the wink which Pathfinder ex- 
changed with Eau-douce, and he remained silent for some 
time ; for, sooth to say, he had never suspected the possi- 
bility of going down Niagara, feasible as the thing must 
appear to every one on a second thought— the real diffi- 
culty existed it going up it. 

By this time the party had reached the place where 
Jasper had left his own canoe concealed in the bushes, 
and they all re-embarked — Jasper, Cap, and his niece 
in one boat, and Pathfinder, Arrowhead, and the wife 
of the latter in the other. The Mohican had already 
passed down the banks of the river by land, looking 


44 


THE PATHFINDER. 


cautiously, and with the skill of his people, for the signs 
of an enemy. 

The cheek of Mabel did not recover all its bloom until 
the canoe was again in the current, down which it floated 
swiftly, occasionally impelled by the paddle of Jasper. 
She witnessed the descent of the falls with a degree of 
terror that had rendered her mute, but her fright had not 
been so great as to prevent admiration of the steadiness of 
the youth, who directed the movement, from blending with 
the passing terror. In truth, one much less quick and 
sensitive might have had her feelings awakened by the cool 
and gallant air with which Eau-douce had accomplished 
this clever exploit. He had stood firmly erect, notwith- 
standing the plunge; and to those who were on the shore 
it was evident that, by a timely application of his skill and 
strength, the canoe had received a sheer that alone carried 
it clear of a rock, over which the boiling water was leaping 
in jets <z’ eau — now leaving the brown stone visible, and now 
covering it with a limpid sheet, as if machinery controlled 
the play of the element. The tongue cannot always ex- 
press what the eye views, but Mabel saw enough, even in 
the moment of fear, to blend forever in her mind the pict- 
ures represented by the plunging canoe and the unmoved 
steersman. She admitted that insidious sentiment which 
binds woman so strongly to man, by feeling additional 
security in finding herself under his care; and, for the first 
time since leaving Fort Stanwix, she was entirely at her 
ease in the frail bark in which she travelled. As the other 
canoe kept quite near her own, however, and the Path- 
finder, by floating at her side, was most in view, the con- 
versation was principally maintained with that person; 
Jasper seldom speaking unless addressed, and constantly 
exhibiting a wariness in the management of his own boat 
that might have been remarked by one accustomed to his 
ordinary, confident, careless manner, had such an observer 
been present to note what was passing. 

“We know too well a woman’s gifts, to think of carry- 
ing the sergeant’s daughter over the falls,” said Path- 
finder, looking at Mabel, while he addressed her uncle; 
u though I’ve been acouainted with some of her sex in them 
regions that would think but little of doing the thing.” 

“ Mabel is faint-hearted, like her mother.” returned 


THE PATHFINDER. 45 

Cap, “ and you did well, friend, to humor her weakness. 
You will remember the child has never been at sea. ” 

“ No — no — it was easy to discover that, by your own 
fearlessness — any one might have seen how little you cared 
about the matter! I went over once with a raw hand, and 
he jumped out of the canoe, just as it tipped, and you may 
judge what a time he had of it! ” 

“ What became of the poor fellow ? ” asked Cap, scarce 
knowing how to take the other’s manner, which was so 
dry, while it was so simple, that a less obtuse subject than 
the old sailor might well have suspected its sincerity. 
“ One who has passed the place knows how to feel for 
him. ” 

“ He was a poor fellow, as you say; and a poor frontier- 
man, too, though he came out to show his skill among us 
ignoranters. What became of him ? Why, he went down 
the fall topsy-turvy like, as would have happened to a 
courthouse or a fort.” 

“ If it should jump out of a canoe,” interrupted Jasper, 
smiling, though he was evidently more disposed than his 
friend to let the passage of the falls be forgotten. 

“The boy is right,” rejoined Pathfinder, laughing in 
Mabel’s face, the canoes now being so near that they al- 
most touched ; “ he is sartainly right. But you have not 
told us what you think of the leap we took.” 

“ It was perilous and bold,” said Mabel; “while looking 
at it, I could have wished that it had not been attempted; 
though, now it is over, I can admire its boldness, and the 
steadiness with which it was made.” 

“Now, do not think that we did this thing to set our- 
selves off in female eyes. It may be pleasant to the young 
to win each other’s good opinions by doing things that 
may seem praiseworthy and bold ; but neither Eau-douce 
nor myself is of that race. My natur’, though perhaps 
the Sarpent would be a better witness, has few turns in it, 
and is a straight natur’ ; nor would it be likely to lead me 
into a vanity of this sort while out on duty. As for Jasper, 
he would sooner go the Oswego Falls without a looker-on 
than do it before a hundred pair of eyes. I know the lad 
well, from use and much consorting, and I am sure he is 
not boastful or vainglorious.” 

Mabel rewarded the scout with a smile that served to keep 


4 6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the canoes together for some time longer, for the sight of 
youth and beauty was so rare on that remote trontier that 
even the rebuked and self-mortified feelings of this wan- 
derer of the forest were sensibly touched by the blooming 
loveliness of the girl. 

“ We did it for the best,” Pathfinder continued; 44 ’twas 
all for the best. Had we waited to carry the canoe across 
the portage, time would have been lost, and nothing is so 
precious as time when you are distrustful of Mingoes. ” 

44 But we can have little to fear now. The canoes move 
swiftly, and two hours, you have said, will carry us down 
to the fort.” 

44 It shall be a cunning Iroquois who hurts a hair of your 
head, pretty one, for all here are bound to the sergeant 
and most, I think, to yourself, to see you safe from harm. 
Ha! Eau-douce; what is that in the river, at the lower 
turn, yonder, beneath the bushes — I mean standing on the 
rock ? ” 

44 ’Tis the Big Serpent, Pathfinder; he is making signs 
to us, in a way I don’t understand.” 

44 ’Tis the Sarpent, as sure as I’m a white man, and he 
wishes us to drop in nearer to his shore. Mischief is brew- 
in’, or one of his deliberation and steadiness would never 
take this trouble. Courage all! we are men, and must 
meet deviltry as becomes our color and our callings. Ah ! 
I never knew good come of boastin’ ; and here, just as I 
was vauntin’ of our safety, comes danger to give me the 
lie.” 


CHAPTER. IV. 

w Art stryving to compare 
With Nature, did an arber greene dispred, 

Framed of wanton yvie flowing fayre, 

Through which the fragrant eglantines did spred ! ” — Spenser. 

The Oswego below the fall is a more rapid, unequal 
stream than it is above them. There are places where the 
river flows in the quiet stillness of deep water, but many 
shoals and rapids occur; and at that distant day, when 
everything was in its natural state, some of the passes 
were not altogether without hazard. Very little exertion 


THE PATHFINDER. 


47 


was required on the part of those who managed the canoes, 
except in those places where the swiftness of the current 
and the presence of the rocks required care — when, indeed, 
not only vigilance, but great coolness, readiness, and 
strength or arm, became necessary in order to avoid the 
dangers. Of all this the Mohican was aware, and he had 
judiciously selected a spot where the river flowed tran- 
quilly, to intercept the canoes, in order to make his com- 
munication without hazard to those he wished to speak. 

The Pathfinder had no sooner recognized the form of 
his red friend than, with a strong sweep of his paddle, he 
threw the head of his own canoe toward the shore, mo- 
tioning for Jasper to follow. In a minute both boats were 
silently drifting down the stream, within reach of the 
bushes that overhung the water, all observing a profound 
silence — some from alarm, and others from habitual cau- 
tion. As the travellers drew nearer the Indian, he made 
a sign for them to stop; when he and Pathfinder had a 
short but earnest conference, in the language of the Dela- 
wares. 

“ The chief is not apt to see enemies in a dead log,” ob- 
served the white man to his red associate; “why does he 
tell us to stop ? ” 

“ Mingoes are in the woods.” 

“ That we have believed these two days; does the chief 
know it ? ” 

The Mohican quietly held up the head of a pipe, formed 
of stone. 

“It lay on a fresh trail that led toward the garrison” — - 
for so it was the usage of that frontier to term a military 
work, whether it was occupied or not. 

“ That may be the bowl of a pipe belonging to a soldier. 
Many use the red-skin pipes.” 

“ See,” said the Big Serpent, again holding the thing he 
had found up to the view of his friend. 

The bowl of the pipe was of soapstone, and it had been 
carved with great care, and with a very respectable degree 
of skill. In its centre was a small Latin cross, made with 
an accuracy that permitted no doubt of its meaning. 

“That does foretell deviltry and wickedness,” said the 
Pathfinder, who had all the provincial horror of the holy 
symbol in question that then pervaded the country, and 


48 


THE PATHFINDER. 


which became so incorporated with its prejudices, Dy con- 
founding men with things, as to have left its traces strong 
enough on the moral feeling of the community to be dis- 
covered even at the present hour; “ no Injin who had not 
been parvarted by the cunning priests of the Canadas would 
dream of carving a thing like that on his pipe! I’ll war- 
rant ye, the knave prays to the image every time he wishes 
to sarcumvent the innocent, and work his fearful wicked- 
ness. It looks fresh, too, Chingachgook ? ” 

“ The tobacco was burning when I found it.” 

“ That is close work, chief — where was the trail ? ” 

The Mohican pointed to a spot not a hundred yards dis- 
tant from that where they stood. 

The matter now began to look very serious, and the 
two principal guides conferred apart for several minutes, 
when both ascended the bank, approached the indicated 
spot, and examined the trail with the utmost care. After 
this investigation had lasted a quarter of an hour, the white 
man returned alone, his red friend having disappeared in 
the forest. 

The ordinary expression of the countenance of the Path- 
finder was that of simplicity, integrity, and sincerity, 
blended in an air of self-reliance that usually gave great 
confidence to those who found themselves under his care; 
but now a look of concern cast a shadow over his honest 
face that struck the whole party. 

“ What cheer, Master Pathfinder ? ” demanded Cap, per- 
mitting a voice that was usually deep, and loud, and con- 
fident, to sink into the cautious tones that better suited the 
dangers of the wilderness; “ has the enemy got between 
us and our port ? ” 

‘‘ Anan ? ” 

“ Have any of these painted scaramouches anchored off 
the harbor toward which we are running, with the hope of 
cutting us off in entering ? ” 

“ It may be all as you say, friend Cap, but I am none 
the wiser for your words; and, in ticklish time, the plainer 
a man makes his English, the easier he is understood. I 
know nothing of ports and anchors, but there is a direful 
Mingo trail within a hundred yards of this very spot, and 
as fresh as venison without salt. If one of the fiery devils 
has passed, so have a dozen ; and what is worse, they have 


THE PATHFINDER. 


49 


gone down toward the garrison, and not a soul crosses the 
clearing around it that some of their piercing eyes will not 
discover, when sartain bullets will follow.” 

“ Cannot this said fort deliver a broadside, and clear 
everything within the sweep of its hawse ? ” 

“ Nay, the forts this a-way are not like forts in the set- 
tlements, and two or three light cannon are all they have 
down at the mouth of the river; and then, broadsides fired 
at a dozen outlying Mingoes, lying behind logs and in a 
forest, would be powder spent in vain. We have but one 
course, and that is a very nice one. We are judgmatically 
placed here, both canoes being hid, by the high bank and 
bushes, from all eyes except them of any lurker directly 
opposite. Here, then, we may stay, without much present 
fear; but how to get the bloodthirsty devils up the stream 
again ? Ha! I have it — I have it. If it does no good, 
it can do no harm. Do you see the wide-top chestnut, 
there, Jasper, at the last turn in the river ? On our own 
side of the stream, I mean.” 

“ That near the fallen pine ? ” 

“ The very same. Take the flint and tinder-box, creep 
along the bank, and light a fire at that spot; maybe the 
smoke will draw them above us. In the mean while we 
will drop the canoes carefully down beyond the point 
below, and find another shelter. Bushes are plenty, and 
covers are easy to be had in this region, as witness the 
many ambushments.” 

“I will do it, Pathfinder,” said Jasper, springing to the 
shore. “ In ten minutes the fire shall be lighted.” 

“And, Eau-douce, use plenty of damp wood this time,” 
half whispered the other, laughing heartily in his own 
peculiar manner — “ when smoke is wanted, water helps to 
thicken it.” 

The young man, who too well understood his duty to 
delay unnecessarily, was soon off, making his way rapidly 
toward the desired point. A slight attempt of Mabel to 
object to the risk was disregarded, and the party immedi- 
ately prepared to change its position, as it could be seen 
from the place where Jasper intended to light his fire. 
The movement did not require haste, and it was made 
leisurely and with care. The canoes were got clear of 
the bu^'-". then suffered to drop down with th -am, 


50 


THE PATHFINDER. 


until they reached the spot where the chestnut at the foot 
of which Jasper was to light the fire was almost shut out 
from view, when they stopped, and every eye was turned 
in the direction of the adventurer. 

“ There goes the smoke! ” exclaimed wthe Pathfinder, as 
a current of air whirled a little column of the vapor from 
the land, allowing it to rise spirally above the bed of the 
river. “ A good flint, a small bit of steel, and plenty of 
dry leaves make a quick fire; I hope Eau-douce will have 
the wit to bethink him of the damp wood now, when it 
may serve us all a good turn.” 

“Too much smoke — too much cunning,” said Arrow- 
head, sententiously. 

“That is gospel truth, Tuscarora, if the Mingoes didn’t 
know that they are near soldiers; but soldiers commonly 
think more of their dinner at a halt than of their wisdom 
and danger. No, no, let the boy pile on his logs, and 
smoke them well too; it will all be laid to the stupidity of 
some Scotch or Irish blunderer, who is thinking more of 
his oatmeal or potatoes than of Injin sarcumventions or 
Injin rifles.” 

“ And yet I should think, from all we have heard in the 
towns, that the soldiers on this frontier are used to the 
artifices of their enemies,” said Mabel, “and have got to 
be almost as wily as the red men themselves.” 

“ Not they — not they. Experience makes them but little 
wiser; and they wheel, and platoon, and battalion it about, 
here in the forest, just as they did in their parks at home, 
of which they are all so fond of talking. One red-skin 
has more cunning in his natur’ than a whole rijiment from 
the other side of the water — that is what I call cunning of 
the woods. But there is smoke enough, of all conscience, 
and we had better drop into another cover. The lad has 
thrown the river on his fire, and there is danger that the 
Mingoes will believe a whole rijiment is out.” 

While speaking, the Pathfinder permitted his canoe to 
drift away from the bush by which it had been retained, 
and in a couple of minutes the bend in the river concealed 
the smoke and the tree. Fortunately a small indentation 
in the shore presented itself within a few yards of the point 
they had just passed; and the two canoes glided into it. 
Under the impulsion of the paddles. 


THE PATHFINDER. 52 

A better spot could not have been found for the purpose 
of the travellers than the one they now occupied. The 
bushes were thick and overhung the water, forming a 
complete canopy of leaves. There was a small, gravelly 
strand at the bottom of the little bay, where most of the 
party landed to be more at their ease, and the only posi- 
tion from which they could possibly be seen was a point 
of the river directly opposite. There was little danger, 
however, of discovery from that quarter, as the thicket 
there was even denser than common, and the land beyond 
it was so wet and marshy as to render it difficult to be 
trodden. 

“ This is a safe cover,” said the Pathfinder, after he had 
taken a scrutinizing survey of his position; “but it may 
be necessary to make it safer. Master Cap, I ask nothing 
of you but silence, and a quieting of such gifts as you may 
have got at sea, while the Tuscarora and I make provision 
for the evil hour.” 

The guide then went a short distance into the bushes, 
accompanied by the Indian, where the two cut off the 
larger stems of several alders and other bushes, using the 
utmost care not to make a noise. The ends of these little 
trees, for such, in fact, they were, were forced into the 
mud, outside of the canoes, the depth of the water being 
very trifling; and in the course of ten minutes a very effec- 
tual screen was interposed between them and the principal 
point of danger. Much ingenuity and readiness were 
manifested in making this simple arrangement, in which 
the two workmen were essentially favored by the natural 
formation of the bank, the indentation of the shore, the 
shallowness of the water, and the manner in which the 
tangled bushes dipped into the stream. The Pathfinder 
had the address to look for bushes that had curved stems, 
things easily found in such a place, and by cutting them 
some distance beneath the bend, and permitting the latter 
to touch the water, the artificial little thicket had not the 
appearance of growing in the stream, which might have 
excited suspicion ; but one passing it would have thought 
that the bushes shot out horizontally from the bank before 
they inclined upward toward the light. In short, the 
shelter was so cunningly devised, and so artfully prepared, 
that none but an unusually distrustful eye would have 


5 2 


THE PATHFINDER. 


been turned for an instant toward the spot in quest of a 
hiding-place. 

“This is the best cover I ever yet got into,” said the 
Pathfinder, with his quiet laugh, after having been on the 
outside to reconnoitre; “ the leaves of our new trees fairly 
touch the bushes over our heads, and even the painter who 
has been in the garrison of late could not tell which belong 
to Providence and which are our’n. Hist! yonder comes 
Eau-douce, wading, like a sensible boy as he is, to leave 
his trail in the water; and we shall soon see whether our 
cover is good for anything or not.” 

Jasper had, indeed, returned from his duty above, and, 
missing the canoes, he at once inferred that they had 
dropped round the next bend in the river, in order to get 
out of sight of the fire. His habits of caution immediately 
suggested the expediency of stepping into the water, in 
order that there might exist no visible communication be- 
tween the marks left on the shore by the party and the 
place where he believed them to have taken refuge below. 
Should the Canadian Indians return on their own trail, and 
discover that made by the Pathfinder and the Serpent, in 
their ascent from and descent to the river, the clew to 
their movements would cease at the shore, water leaving 
no prints of footsteps. The young man had therefore 
waded, knee-deep, as far as the point, and was now seen 
making his way slowly down the margin of the stream, 
searching curiously for the spot in which the canoes were 
hid. 

It was in the power of those behind the bushes, by plac- 
ing their eyes near the leaves, to find many places to look 
through, while one at a little distance lost this advantage; 
or, even did his sight happen to fall on some small open- 
ing, the bank and the shadows beyond prevented him from 
detecting forms and outlines of sufficient dimensions to 
expose the fugitives. It was evident to those who watched 
his motions from behind their cover, and they were all in 
the canoes, that Jasper was totally at a loss to imagine 
where the Pathfinder had secreted himself. When fairly 
round the curvature in the shore, and out of sight of the 
fire he had lighted above, the young man stopped and 
began examining the bank deliberately and with great 
care. Occasionally he advanced eight or ten paces, and 


THE PATHFINDER. 


53 


then halted again, to renew the search. The water being 
much snoaler than common, he stepped aside, in order to 
walk with greater ease to himself, and came so near the 
artificial plantation that he might have touched it with 
his hand. Still he detected nothing, and was actually 
passing the spot, when Pathfinder made an opening be- 
neath the branches, and called to him, in a low voice, to 
enter. 

“This is pretty well,” said the Pathfinder, laughing; 
4t though pale-face eyes and red-skin eyes are as different 
as human spy-glasses. I would wager with the sergeant’s 
daughter, here, a horn of powder agin’ a wampum-belt for 
her girdle, that her father’s rijiment would march by this 
ambushment of our’n and never find out the fraud! But 
if the Mingoes actilly get down into the bed of the river, 
where Jasper passed, I should tremble for the plantation. 
It will do for their eyes even across the stream, howsever, 
and will not be without its use.” 

“ Don’t you think, Master Pathfinder, that it would be 
wisest after all,” said Cap, “ to get under way at once, and 
carry sail hard down stream, as soon as we are satisfied 
these rascals are fairly astern of us? We seamen call a 
stern chase a long chase.” 

“ I wouldn’t move from this spot until we hear from the 
Sarpent, with the sergeant’s pretty daughter, here, in our 
company, for all the powder in the magazine of the fort 
below! Sartain captivity or sartain death would follow. If 
a tender fa’n, such as the maiden we hare in charge, could 
thread the forest like old deer, it might, indeed, do to quit 
the canoes, for by making a circuit we could reach the 
garrison before morning.” 

“Then let it be done,” said Mabel, springing to her 
feet, under the sudden impulse of awakened energy. “ I 
am young, active, used to exercise, and could easily out. 
walk my dear uncle. Let no one think me a hindrance. 

I cannot bear that all your lives should be exposed on my 
account.” 

“ No, no, pretty one; we think you anything but a hin- 
drance, or anything that is onbecoming, and would will- 
ingly run twice this risk to do you and the honest sergeant 
a service. Do I not speak your mind, Eau-douce ? ” 

“To do her a service!” said Jasper, with emphasis. 


54 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Nothing shall tempt me to desert Mabel Dunham until 
she is safe in her father’s arms.” 

“Well said, lad; bravely and honestly said, too; and I 
join in it, heart and hand. No, no; you are not the first 
of your sex I have led through the wilderness, and never 
but once did any harm befall any of them — that was a sad 
day, sartainly ; but its like may never come again! ” 

Mabel looked from one of her protectors to the other, 
and her fine eyes swam in tears. Frankly placing a hand 
in that of each, she answered them, though at first her 
voice was choked : 

“ I have no right to expose you on my account. My 
dear father will thank you — I thank you — God will reward 
you — but let there be no unnecessary risk. I can walk 
far, and have often gone miles on some girlish fancy; 
why not now exert myself for my life — nay, for your pre- 
cious lives ? ” 

“ She is a true dove, Jasper,” said the Pathfinder, neither 
relinquishing the hand he held until the girl herself, in 
native modesty, saw fit to withdraw it, “ and wonderfully 
winning! We get to be rough, and sometimes even hard- 
hearted, in the woods, Mabel ; but the sight of one like 
you brings us back agin to our young feelin’s and does us 
good for the remainder of our days. I dare say Jasper, 
here, will tell you the same; for, like me in the forest, the 
lad sees but few such as yourself, on Ontario, to soften his 
heart, and remind him of love for his Kind. Speak out, 
now, Jasper, and say if it is not so.” 

“ I question if many like Mabel Dunham are to be found 
anywhere,” returned the young man, gallantly, an honest 
sincerity glowing in his face that spoke more eloquently 
than his tongue; “you need not mention woods and lakes 
to challenge her equals, but I would go into 'the settle- 
ments and towns.” 

“We had better leave the canoes,” Mabel hurriedly re- 
joined ; “ for I feel it is no longer safe to be here.” 

“You can never do it — you can never do it. It would 
be a march of more than twenty miles, and that, too, of 
tramping over brush and roots, and through swamps, in 
the dark; the trail of such a path would be wide, and we 
might have to fight our way into the garrison, after all. 
We will wait for the Mohican.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


ss 

Such appearing to be the decision of him to whom all, 
in their present strait, looked up for counsel, no more was 
said on the subject. The whole party now broke up into 
groups; Arrowhead and his wife sitting apart under the 
bushes, conversing in a low tone, though the man spoke 
sternly, and the woman answered with the subdued mild- 
ness that marks the degraded condition of a savage’s wife. 
Pathfinder and Cap occupied one canoe, chatting of their 
different adventures by sea and land, while Jasper and 
Mabel sat in the other, making greater progress in inti- 
macy in a single hour than might have been effected under 
other circumstances in a twelvemonth. Notwithstanding 
their situation as regards the enemy, the time flew by 
swiftly, and the young people in particular were astonished 
when Cap informed them how long they had been thus 
occupied. 

“If one could smoke, Master Pathfinder,” observed the 
old sailor, “ this berth would be snug enough; for, to give 
the devil his due, you have got the canoes handsomely 
land-locked and into moorings that would defy a monsoon. 
The only hardship is the denial of the pipe.” 

“The scent of the tobacco would betray us; and where 
is the use of taking all these precautions against the Min- 
goes’ eyes if we are to tell them where the cover is to be 
found, through the nose? No — no — deny your appetite 
and learn one vartue from a red-skin, who will pass a week 
without eating, even, to get a single scalp. Did you hear 
nothing, Jasper?” 

“ The Serpent is coming.” 

“ Then let us see if Mohican eyes are better than them 
of a lad who follows the water.” 

The Mohican made his appearance in the same direction 
as that by which Jasper had rejoined his friends. Instead 
of coming directly on, however, no sooner did he pass 
the bend, where he was concealed from any who might be. 
higher up stream, than he moved close under the bank, 
and, using the utmost caution, got a position where he 
could look back, with his person sufficiently concealed by 
the bushes to prevent its being seen by any in that quarter. 

“ The Sarpent sees the knaves ! ” whispered Pathfinder;. 
“ as I am a Christian white man they have bit fihe bait 
and ambushed the smoke! ” 


56 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Here a hearty but silent laugh interrupted his words, 
and, nudging Cap with his elbow, they all continued to 
watch the movements of Chingachgook in profound still- 
ness. The Mohican remained stationary as the rock on 
which he stood, fully ten minutes; then it was apparent 
that something of interest had occurred within his view, 
for he drew back with a hurried manner, looked anxiously 
and keenly along the margin of the stream, and moved 
quickly down it, taking care to lose his trail in the 
shallow water. Ee was evidently in a hurry, and con- 
cerned, now looking behind him, and then casting eager 
glances toward every spot on the shore where he thought 
a canoe might be concealed. 

“Call him in,” whispered Jasper, scarce able to restrain 
his impatience — “ call him in, or it will be too late. See, 
he is actually passing us.” 

“Not so — not so, lad; nothing presses, depend on it,” 
returned his companion, “ or the Sarpent would begin to 
creep. The Lord help us, and teach us wisdom! I do 
believe even Chingachgook, whose sight is as faithful as 
the hound’s scent, overlooks us, and will not find out the 
ambushment we have made! ” 

This exultation was untimely, for the words were no 
sooner spoken than the Indian, who had actually got sev- 
eral feet lower down the stream than the artificial cover, 
suddenly stopped, fastened a keen, riveted glance among 
the transplanted bushes, made a few hasty steps backward, 
and bending his body and carefully separating the branches, 
appeared among them. 

“The accursed Mingoes!” said Pathfinder, as soon as 
his friend was near enough to be addressed with prudence. 

“Iroquois,” returned the sententious Indian. 

“No matter — no matter — Iroquois — devil — Mingoes — 
.Mengwes, or furies — all are pretty much the same. I call 
all rascals Mingoes. Come hither, chief, and let us con- 
varse rationally.” 

The two then stepped aside, and conversed earnestly in 
Che dialect of the Delawares. When their private com- 
munication was over, Pathfinder rejoined the rest, and 
made them acquainted with all he had learned. 

The Mohican had followed the trail of their enemies 
some ~tance toward the fort, until the latt- caught 


THE PATHFINDER. 


57 


sight of the smoke of Jasper’s fire, when they instantly 
retraced their steps. It now became necessary for Chin- 
gachgook, who ran the greatest risk of detection, to find 
a cover where he could secrete himself until the party 
might pass. It was, perhaps, fortunate for him that the 
savages were so intent on their recent discovery that they 
did not bestow the ordinary attention on the signs of the 
forest. At all events, they passed him swiftly, fifteen in 
number, treading lightly in each other’s footsteps: and he 
was enabled again to get into their rear. After proceed* 
ing to the place where the footsteps of Pathfinder and the 
Mohican joined the principal trail, the Iroquois had struck 
off to the river, which they reached just as Jasper disap- 
peared behind the bend below. The smoke being now in 
plain view, the savages plunged into the woods, and en- 
deavored to approach the fire unseen. Chingachgook 
profited by this occasion to descend to the water, and to 
gain the bend in the river also, which he thought had been 
effected undiscovered. Here he paused, as has been stated, 
until he saw his enemies at the fire, where their stay, how- 
ever, was very short. 

Of the motives of the Iroquois, the Mohican could judge 
only by their acts. He thought they had detected the 
artifice of the fire, and were aware that it had been kindled 
with a view to mislead them; for, after a hasty examina- 
tion of the spot, they separated, some plunging again into 
the woods, while six or eight followed the footsteps of 
Jasper along the shore, and came down the stream toward 
the place where the canoes had landed. What course they 
might take on reaching that spot was only to be conjec- 
tured, for the Serpent had felt the emergency to be too 
pressing to delay looking for his friends any longer. From 
some indications that were to be gathered from their ges- 
tures, however, he thought it probable that their enemies 
might follow down in the margin of the stream, but could 
not be certain. 

As the Pathfinder related these facts to his companions, 
the professional feelings of the two other white men came 
uppermost, and both naturally reverted to their habits, in 
quest of the means of escape. 

'‘Let us run out the canoes at once,” said Jasper, ea- 
gerly ; “ the current is strong, and by using the paddles 


■58 


THE PATHFINDER. 


vigorously we shall soon be beyond the reach oi these 
scoundrels. ” 

“ And this poor flower that first blossomed in the clearin’s 
— shall it wither in the forest ? ” objected his friend, with 
a poetry that he had unconsciously imbibed by his long 
association with the Delawares. 

“We must all die first,” answered the youth, a generous 
color mounting to his temples; “Mabel and Arrowhead’s 
wife may lie down in the canoes, while we do our duty, 
like men, on our feet.” 

“ Ay, you are actyve at the paddle and the oar, Eau- 
douce, I will allow, but an accursed Mingo is more actyve 
at his mischief; the canoes are swift, but a rifle-bullet is 
swifter.” 

“ It is the business of men, engaged as we have been 
by a confiding father, to run this risk ” 

“But it is not their business to overlook prudence.” 

“ Prudence! a man may carry his prudence so far as to 
forget his courage.” 

The group was standing on the narrow strand, the Path- 
finder leaning on his rifle, the butt of which rested on the 
gravelly beach, while both his hands clasped the barrel, 
at the height of his own shoulders. As Jasper threw out 
this severe and unmerited imputation, the deep red of his 
comrade’s face maintained its hue unchanged, though the 
young man perceived that the fingers grasped the iron of 
the gun with the tenacity of a vise. Here all betrayal of 
emotion ceased. 

“You are young and hot-headed,” returned the Path- 
finder, with a dignity that impressed his listener with a 
keen sense of his moral superiority; “but my life has been 
passed among dangers of this sort, and my experience and 
gifts are not to be mastered by the impatience of a boy. 
As for courage, Jasper, I will not send back an angry and 
unmeaning word to meet an angry and an unmeaning 
word, for I know that you are true, in your station and 
according to your knowledge; but take the advice of one 
who faced the Mingoes when you were a child, and know 
that their cunning is easier sarcum vented by prudence than 
outwitted by foolishness.” 

“I ask your pardon, Pathfinder,” said the repentant 
Jasper, eagerly grasping the hand that the other permitted 


THE PATHFINDER. 


59 


him to seize; “I ask your pardon humbly and sincerely. 
’Twas a foolish as well as wicked thing to hint of a man 
whose heart, in a good cause, is as firm as the rocks on 
the lake shore. ” 

For the first time, the color deepened on the cheek of 
the Pathfinder, and the solemn dignity that he had as- 
sumed, under a purely natural impulse, disappeared in the 
expression of the earnest simplicity that was inherent in 
all his feelings. He met the grasp of his young friend 
with a squeeze as cordial as if no chord had jarred between 
them, and a slight sternness that had gathered about his 
eyes disappeared in a look of natural kindness. 

“ ’Tis well, Jasper, ’tis well,” he answered, laughing. 
“ I bear no ill-will, nor shall any one in my behalf. My 
natur’ is that of a white man, and that is to bear no malice. 
It might have been ticklish work to have said half as much 
to the Sarpent, here, though he is a Delaware — for color 
will have its way ” 

A touch on his shoulder caused the speaker to cease. 
Mabel was standing erect in the canoe, her light but swell- 
ing form bent forward in an attitude of graceful earnest- 
ness, her finger on her lips, her head averted, the spirited 
eyes riveted on an opening in the bushes, and one arm 
extended with a fishing-rod, the end of which had touched 
the Pathfinder. The latter bowed his head to a level with 
a lookout near which he had intentionally kept himself, 
and then whispered to Jasper: 

“ The accursed Mingoes! Stand to your arms, my men, 
but lay as the corpses of dead trees! ” 

Jasper advanced rapidly but noiseless to the canoe, and 
with a gentle violence induced Mabel to place herself in 
such an attitude as concealed her entire body, though it 
would have probably exceeded his means to induce the 
girl so far to lower her head that she could not keep her 
gaze fastened on their enemies. He then took his own post 
near her, with his rifle cocked and poised, in readiness to 
fire. Arrowhead and Chingachgook crawled to the cover, 
and lay in wait like snakes, with their arms prepared for 
service, while the wife of the former bowed her head be- 
tween her knees, covered it with her calico robe, and re- 
mained passive and immovable. Cap loosened both his 
pistols in their belt, but seemed quite at a loss what course 


6o 


THE PATHFINDER. 


to pursue. The Pathfinder did not stir. He had origi- 
nally got a position where he might aim with deadly effect 
througn the leaves, and where he could watch the move- 
ments of his enemies; and he was far too steady to be dis- 
concerted at a moment so critical. 

It was truly an alarming instant. Just as Mabel touched 
the shoulder of her guide, three of the Iroquois appeared 
in the water, at the bend of the river, within a hundred 
yards of the cover, and halted to examine the stream below. 
They were all naked to the waist, armed for an expedition 
against their foes, and in their war-paint. It was apparent 
that they were undecided as to the course they ought to 
pursue in order to find the fugitives. One pointed down 
the river, a second up the stream, and the third toward 
the opposite bank. 


CHAPTER V. 

“ Death is here and death is there, 

Death is busy everywhere.” — S helley. 

It was a breathless moment. The only clew the fugi- 
tives possessed to the intentions of their pursuers was in 
their gestures and the indications that escaped them in the 
fury of disappointment. That a party had returned al- 
ready on their own footsteps, by land, was pretty certain; 
and all the benefit expected from the artifice of the fire 
was necessarily lost. But that consideration became of 
little moment just then, for the secreted were menaced 
with an immediate discovery by those who had kept on a 
level with the river. All the facts presented themselves 
clearly, and, as it might be, by intuition, to the mind of 
Pathfinder, who perceived the necessity of immediate de- 
cision, and of being in readiness to act in concert. With- 
out making any noise, therefore, he managed to get the 
two Indians and Jasper near him, when he opened his 
communications in a whisper. 

“We must be ready — we must be ready,” he said. 
“ There are but three of the scalping devils, and we are 
five, four of whom may be set down as manful warriors 


THE PATHFINDER. 


0 1 

/or such a scrimmage. Eau-douce, do you take the fellow 
that is painted like death ; Chingachgook, I give you the 
chief; and Arrowhead must keep his eye on the young 
one. There must be no mistake; for two bullets in the 
same body would be sinful waste, with one like the ser- 
geant’s daughter in danger. I shall hold myself in reserve 
agin’ accidents, lest a fourth riptyle appear, for one of 
your hands may prove onsteady. By no means fire until 
I give the word ; we must not let the crack of the rifle be 
heard except in the last resort, since all the rest of the 
miscreants are still within hearing. Jasper, boy, in case 
of any movement behind us, on the bank, I trust to you 
to run out the canoe, with the sergeant’s daughter, and 
to pull for the garrison, by God’s leave.” 

The Pathfinder had no sooner given these directions 
than the near approach of their enemies rendered profound 
silence necessary. The Iroquois in the river were slowly 
descending the stream, keeping of necessity near the bushes 
that overhung the water, while the rustling of leaves and 
the snapping of twigs soon gave fearful evidence that 
another party was moving along the bank at an equally 
graduated pace, and directly abreast of them. In conse- 
quence of the distance between the bushes planted by the 
fugitives and the true shore, the two parties became visible 
to each other when opposite that precise point. Both 
stopped, and a conversation ensued that may be said to 
have passed directly over the heads of those who were 
concealed. Indeed, nothing sheltered the travellers but 
the branches and leaves of plants so pliant that they 
yielded to every current of air, and which a puff of wind 
a little stronger than common would have blown away. 
Fortunately, the line of sight carried the eyes of the two 
parties of savages, whether they stood in the water or on 
the land, above the bushes; and the leaves appeared 
blended in a way to excite no suspicion. Perhaps the very 
boldness of the expedient prevented an exposure. The 
conversation that took place was conducted earnestly but 
in guarded tones, as if those who spoke wished to defeat 
the intentions of any listeners. It was in a dialect that 
both the Indian warriors beneath, as well as the Pathfinder, 
understood. Even Jasper comprehended a portion of what 
'fras said- 


62 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ The trail is washed away by the water! ” said one from 
below, who stood so near the artificial cover of the fugi- 
tives that he might have been struck by the salmon spear 
that lay in the bottom of Jasper’s canoe. “Water has 
washed it so clear that a Yengeese hound could not follow. ” 

“ The pale-faces have left the shore in their canoes,” an* 
swered the speaker on the bank. 

“ It cannot be. The rifles of our warriors below are 
certain. ” 

The Pathfinder gave a significant glance at Jasper, and 
he clinched his teeth in order to suppress the sound of his 
own breathing. 

“ Let my young men look as if their eyes were eagles’,” 
said the eldest warrior among those who were wading in 
the river. “ We have been a whole moon on the war-path 
and have found but one scalp. There is a maiden among 
them, and some of our braves want wives.” 

Happily these words were lost on Mabel, but Jasper’s 
frown became deeper and his face fiercely flushed. 

The savages now ceased speaking, and the party that 
was concealed heard the slow and guarded movements of 
those who were on the bank as they pushed the bushes 
aside in their wary progress.. It was soon evident that the 
latter had passed the cover; but the group in the water 
still remained, scanning the shore with eyes that glared 
through their war-paint like coals of living fire. After 
a pause of two or three minutes, these three began also to 
descend the stream, though it was step by step, as men 
move who look for an object that has been lost. In this 
manner they passed the artificial screen, and Pathfinder 
opened his mouth, in that hearty but noiseless laugh that 
nature and habit had contributed to render a peculiarity of 
the man. His triumph, however, was premature; for the 
last of the retiring party, just at this moment casting a 
look behind him, suddenly stopped, and his fixed attitude 
and steady gaze at once betrayed the appalling fact that 
some neglected bush had awakened his suspicions. 

It was perhaps fortunate for the concealed that the 
warrior who manifested these fearful signs of distrust was 
young, and had still a reputation to acquire. He knew 
the importance of discretion and modesty in one of his; 
years, and most of all did he dread the ridicule and con* 


THE PATHFINDER. OJ 

tempt that would certainly follow a false alarm. Without 
recalling any of his companions, therefore, he turned on 
his own footsteps, and, while the others continued to de- 
scend the river, he cautiously approached the bushes, on 
which his looks were still fastened as by a charm. Some 
of the leaves which were exposed to the sun had drooped 
a little, and this slight departure from the usual natural 
laws had caught the quick eyes of the Indian ; for so prac- 
ticed and acute do the senses of the savage become, more 
especially when he is on the war-path, that trifles appar- 
ently of the most insignificant sort often prove to be clews 
to lead him to his object. The trifling nature of the change 
which had aroused the suspicion of this youth was an ad- 
ditional motive for not acquainting his companions with 
his discovery. Should he really detect anything, his glory 
would be the greater for being unshared; should he not, 
he might hope to escape that derision which the young 
Indian so much dreads. Then, there were the dangers of 
an ambush and a surprise, to which every warrior of the 
woods is keenly alive, to render his approach slow and 
cautious. In consequence of the delay that proceeded 
from these combined causes, the two parties had descended 
some fifty or sixty yards before the young savage was 
again near enough to the bushes of the Pathfinder to touch 
them with his hand. 

Notwithstanding their critical situation, the whole party 
behind the cover had their eyes fastened on the working 
countenance of the young Iroquois, who was agitated by 
conflicting feelings. First came the eager hope of obtain- 
ing success where some of the most experienced of his tribe 
had failed, and with it a degree of glory that had seldom 
fallen to the share of one of his years, or a brave on his 
first war-path; then followed doubts, as the drooping 
leaves seemed to rise again and to revive in the currents of 
air; and distrust of hidden danger lent its excited feeling 
to keep the eloquent features in play. So very slight, how- 
ever, had been the alteration produced by the heat on the 
bushes of which the stems were in the water that, when 
the Iroquois actually laid his hand on the leaves, he fan- 
cied that he had been deceived. As no man ever distrusts 
strongly without using all convenient means of satisfying 
his doubts, however, the young warrior cautiously pushed 


64 


THE PATHFINDER. 


aside the branches, and advanced a step within the hiding- 
place, when the forms of the concealed party met his gaze, 
resembling so many breathless statues. The low exclama- 
tion, the slight start, and the glaring eye were hardly seen 
and heard before the arm of Chingachgook was raised, 
and the tomahawk of the Delaware descended on the 
shaven head of his foe. The Iroquois raised his hands 
frantically, bounded backward, and fell into the water at 
a spot where the current swept the body away, the strug- 
gling limbs still tossing and writhing in the agony of death. 
The Delaware made a vigorous but unsuccessful attempt 
to seize an arm, with the hope of securing the*scalp, but 
the blood-stained waters whirled down the current, carry- 
ing with them their quivering burden. 

All this passed in less than a minute; and the events 
were so sudden and unexpected that men less accustomed 
than Pathfinder and his associates to forest warfare would 
have been at a loss how to act. 

“There is not a moment to lose," said Jasper, tearing 
aside the bushes as he spoke earnestly but in a suppressed 
voice. “ Do as I do. Master Cap, if you would save your 
niece; and you, Mabel, lie at your length in the canoe." 

The words were scarcely uttered, when, seizing the bow 
of the light boat, he dragged it along the shore, wading 
himself while Cap aided behind, keeping so near the bank 
as to avoid being seen by the savages below, and striving 
to gain the turn in the river above him, which would effec- 
tually conceal the party from the enemy. The Pathfinder’s 
canoe lay nearest to the bank, and it was necessarily the 
last to quit the shore. The Delaware leaped on the nar- 
row strand and plunged into the forest, it being his as- 
signed duty to watch the foe in that quarter, while Arrow- 
head motioned to his white companion to seize the bow of 
the boat, and to follow Jasper. All this was the work of 
an instant. But when the Pathfinder reached the current 
that was sweeping round the turn, he felt a sudden change 
in the weight he was dragging, and looking back he found 
that both the Tuscarora and his wife had deserted him. 
The thought of treachery flashed upon his mind, but there 
was no time to pause ; for the wailing shoutthat arose from 
the party below proclaimed that the body of the young 
Iroquois had floated as low as the spot reached ' ~ his 


THE PATHFINDER. 


65 


friends. The report of a rifle followed, and then the guide 
saw that Jasper, having doubled the bend in the river, 
was crossing the stream, standing erect in the stern of the 
canoe, while Cap was seated forward, both propelling the 
light boat with vigorous strokes of the paddles. A glance, 
a thought, and an expedient followed each other quickly 
in one so trained in the vicissitudes of frontier warfare. 
Springing into the stern of his own canoe, he urged it by 
a vigorous shove into the current, and commenced cross- 
ing the stream himself, at a point so much lower than that 
of his companions as to offer his own person for a target 
to the enemy, well knowing that their keen desire to secure 
a scalp would control all other feelings. 

“ Keep well up the current, Jasper,” shouted the gallant 
guide, as he swept the water with long, steady, vigorous 
strokes of the paddle — “ keep well up the current, and pull 
for the alder-bushes opposite. Presarve the sergeant’s 
daughter before all things, and leave the Mingo knaves to 
the Sarpent and me.” 

Jasper flourished his paddle as a signal of understand- 
ing, while shot succeeded shot in quick succession, all now 
being aimed at the solitary man in the nearest canoe. 

“ Ah, empty your rifles, like simpletons, as you be,” said 
the Pathfinder, who had acquired a habit of speaking when 
alone, from passing so much of his time in the solitude of 
the forest ; “ empty your rifles with an onsteady aim, and 
give me a chance to put yard upon yard of river atween 
us. I will not revile you, like a Delaware or a Mohican, 
for my gifts are a white man’s gifts, and not an Injin’s; 
and boasting in battle is no part of a Christian warrior; 
but I may say, here, all alone by myself, that you are a 
little better than so many men from the town, shooting at 
robins in the orchards! That was well meant,” throwing 
back his head, as a rifle-bullet cut a lock of hair from his 
temple — “ but the lead that misses by an inch is as useless 
as the lead that never quits the barrel. Bravely done, 
Jasper! the sergeant’s sweet child must be saved, even if 
we go in without our own scalps.” 

By this time the Pathfinder was in the centre of the 
river, and almost abreast of his enemies, while the other 
canoe, impelled by the vigorous arms of Cap and Jasper, 
had nearly gained the opposite shore at the precise spot 


66 


THE PATHFINDER. 


that had been pointed out to them. The old mariner now 
playe 1 his part manfully ; for he was on his proper element, 
loved his niece sincerely, had a proper regard for his own 
person, and was not unused to fire, though his experience 
certainly lay in a very different species of warfare. A few 
strokes of the paddle were given, and the canoe shot into 
the bushes, Mabel was hurried to land by Jasper, and for 
the present all three of the fugitives were safe. 

Not so with Pathfinder. His hardy self-devotion had 
brought him into a situation of unusual exposure, the 
hazards of which were much increased by the fact that just 
as he drifted nearest to the enemy, the party on the shore 
rushed down the bank and joined their friends who stood 
still in the water. The Oswego was about a cable’s length 
in width at this point,, and, the canoe being in the centre, 
the object was only a hundred yards from the rifles that 
were constantly discharged at it, or at the usual target 
distance for that weapon. 

In this extremity the steadiness and skill of the Path- 
finder did him good service. He knew that his safety de- 
pended altogether in keeping in motion; for a stationary 
object at that distance would have been hit nearly every 
shot. Nor was motion itself sufficient; for, accustomed 
to kill the bounding deer, his enemies probably knew how 
to vary the line of aim so as to strike him, should he con- 
tinue to move in any one direction. He was consequently 
compelled to change the course of the canoe, at one mo- 
ment shooting down with the current, with the swiftness of 
an arrow, and at the next checking its progress in that direc- 
tion, to glance athwart the stream. Luckily the Iroquois 
could not reload their pieces in the water, and the bushes 
that everywhere fringed the shore rendered it difficult to 
keep the fugitive in view when on the land. Aided by 
these circumstances, and having received the fire of all 
his foes, the Pathfinder was gaining fast in distance, both 
downward and across the current, when a new danger 
suddenly, if not unexpectedly, presented itself by the ap- 
pearance of the party that had been left in ambush below, 
with a view to watch the river. 

These were the savages alluded to in the short dialogue 
that has been already related. They w T ere no less than ten 
in number., and, understanding all the advantages of their 


THE PATHFINDER. 


67 


bloody occupation, they had posted themselves at a spot 
where the water dashed among rocks and over shallows, 
in a way to form a rapid, which, in the language of the 
country, is called a rift. The Pathfinder saw that if he 
entered this rift he should be compelled to approach a 
point where the Iroquois had posted themselves, for the 
current was irresistible, and the rocks allowed no other 
safe passage, while death or captivity would be the prob- 
able result of the attempt. All his efforts, therefore, were 
turned toward reaching the western shore, the foe being 
all on the eastern side of the river. But the exploit sur- 
passed human power, and to attempt to stem the stream 
would at once have so far diminished the motion of the 
canoe as to render aim certain. In this exigency the guide 
came to a decision with his usual cool promptitude, making 
his preparations accordingly. Instead of endeavoring to 
gain the channel, he steered toward the shallowest part of 
the stream, on reaching which he seized his rifle and pack, 
leaped into the water, and began to wade from rock to 
rock, taking the direction of the western shore. The 
canoe whirled about in the furious current, now rolling over 
some slippery stone, now filling, and then emptying itself, 
until it lodged on the shore, within a few yards of the spot 
Where the Iroquois had posted themselves. 

In the mean while the Pathfinder was far from being out 
of danger; for the first minute, admiration of his prompti- 
tude and daring, which are high virtues in the mind of an 
Indian, kept his enemies motionless; but the desire of re- 
venge and the craving for the much-prized trophy soon 
overcame this transient feeling, and aroused them from 
their stupor. Rifle flashed after rifle, and the bullets whis- 
tled around the head of the fugitive, amid the roar of the 
waters. Still he proceeded like one who bore a charmed 
life, for while his rude frontier garments were more than 
once cut, his skin was not grazed. 

As the Pathfinder, in several instances, was compelled 
to wade in water that rose nearly to his arms, while he 
kept his rifle and ammunition elevated above the raging 
current, the toii soon fatigued him, and he was glad to 
stop at a large stone, or a small rock, which rose so high 
above the river that its upper surface was dry On this 
Stone he placed his powder-horn, getting behind it himself, 


t>8 


THE PATHFINDER. 


so as to have the advantage of a partial cover for his body. 
The western shore was only fifty feet distant, out the 
quiet, swift, dark current that glanced through the inter - 
Aral sufficiently showed that here he would be compelled 
to swim. 

A short cessation in the firing now took place on the 
part of the Indians, who gathered about the canoe, and, 
having found the paddles, were preparing to cross the 
river. 

“Pathfinder!” called a voice from among the bushes, 
at the point nearest to the person addressed on the western 
shore. 

“ What would you have, Jasper ? ” 

“ Be of good heart — friends are at hand, and not a single 
Mingo shall cross without suffering for his boldness. Had 
you not better leave the rifle on the rock, and swim to us 
before the rascals can get afloat ? ” 

“ A true woodsman never quits his piece while he has 
any powder in his horn or a bullet in his pouch. I have 
not drawn a trigger this day, Eau-douce, and shouldn’t 
relish the idea of parting with them riptyles without caus- 
ing them to remember my name. A little water will not 
harm my legs; and I see that blackguard Arrowhead 
among the scamps, and wish to send him the wages he has 
so faithfully earned. You have not brought the sergeant’s 
daughter down here in a range with their bullets, I hope, 
Jasper ? ” 

“ She is safe, for the present at least ; though all depends 
on our keeping the river between us and the enemy. They 
must know our weakness now and, should they cross, no 
doubt some of their party will be left on the other side.” 

“This canoeing touches your gifts rather than mine, 
boy, though I will handle a paddle with the best Mingo 
that ever struck a salmon. If they cross below the rift, 
why can’t we cross in the still water above, and keep 
playing at dodge and turn with the wolves ? ” 

“ Because, as I have said, they will leave a party on the 
other shore — and then, Pathfinder, would you expose Ma- 
bel to the rifles of the Iroquois ?” 

“ The sergeant’s daughter must be saved,” returned the 
guide, with calm energy. “You are right, Jasper; she 
has no gift to authorize her in offering her sweet face and 


THE PATHFINDER. 


69 


tender oody to a Mingo rifle. What can be done, then ? 
They must be kept from crossing for an hour or two, if 
possible, when we must do our best in the darkness.” 

“ I agree with you, Pathfinder, if it can De effected; but 
are we strong enough for such a purpose ? ” 

“ The Lord is with us, boy — the Lord is with us; and it 
is unreasonable to suppose that one like the sergeant’s 
daughter will be altogether abandoned by Providence in 
such a strait. There is not a boat atween the falls and 
the garrison, except these two canoes, to my sartain knowl- 
edge; and I think it will go beyond red-skin gifts to cross 
in the face of two rifles like these of your’n and mine. 1 
will not vaunt, Jasper, but it is well known on all this 
frontier that Kill-deer seldom fails.” 

“Your skill is admitted by all, far and near, Pathfinder, 
but a rifle takes time to be loaded ; nor are you on the 
land, aided by a good cover, where you can work to the 
advantage you are used to. If you had our canoe, might 
you not pass to the shore wtih a dry rifle ? ” 

“Can an eagle fly, Jasper?” returned the other, laugh- 
ing in his usual manner, and looking back as he spoke. 
“ But it would be unwise to expose yourself on the water, 
for them miscreants are beginning to bethink them again 
of powder and bullets.” 

“ It can be done without any such chances. Master 
Cap has gone up to the canoe, and will cast the branch of 
a tree into the river to try the current, which sets from the 
point above in the direction of your rock. See, there it 
comes already; if it floats fairly you must raise your arm, 
when the canoe will follow. At all events, if the boat 
should pass you, the eddy below will bring it up, and I 
can recover it.” 

While Jasper was still speaking, the floating branch came 
in sight, and quickening its progress with the increasing 
velocity of the current, it swept swiftly down toward the 
Pathfinder, who seized it as it was passing, and held it in 
the air as a sign of success. Cap understood the signal, 
and presently the canoe was launched into the stream, with 
a caution and intelligence that the habits of the mariner 
fitted him to observe. It floated in the same direction as 
the branch, and in a minute was arrested by the Pathfinder. 

“This has been done with a frontiersman’s judgment, 


70 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Jasper, ” said the guide, laugbing; “but you have your 
gifts, which incline most to the water, as mine incline to 
the woods. Now let them Mingo knaves cock their rifles 
and get rests, for this is the last chance they are likely to 
have at a man without a cover.” 

“ Nay, shove the canoe toward the shore, quartering 
the current, and throw yourself into it as it goes off,” said 
Jasper, eagerly. “ There is little use in running any risk.” 

“ I love to stand up face to face with my enemies like a 
man, while they set me the example,” returned the Path- 
finder, proudly. “ I am not a red-skin born, and it is more 
a white man’s gifts to fight openly than to lie in ambush.” 

“ And Mabel ?” 

“True, boy, true — the sergeant’s daughter must be 
saved; and as you say, foolish risks only become boys. 
Think you that you can catch the canoe where you stand ? ” 

“ There can be no doubt of it, if you give a vigorous 
push.” 

Pathfinder made the necessary effort, the light bark shot 
across the intervening space, and Jasper seized it as it 
came to land. To secure the canoe and to take proper 
positions in the cover occupied the friends but a moment, 
when they shook hands cordially, like those who had met 
after a long separation. 

“ Now, Jasper, we shall see if a Mingo of them all dare 
cross the Oswego in the teeth of Kill-deer! You are handier 
with the oar and the paddle and the sail than with the 
rifle, perhaps; but you have a stout heart and a steady 
hand, and them are things that count in a fight.” 

“ Mabel will find me between her and her enemies,” said 
Jasper, calmly. 

“Yes, yes, the sergeant’s daughter must be protected. 
I like you, boy, on your own account, but I like you all 
the better that you think of xme so feeble at a moment 
when there is need of all your manhood. See, Jasper, 
three of the knaves are actually getting into the canoe! 
They must believe we have fled, or they would not surely 
ventur’ so much, directly in the very face of Kill-deer! ” 

Sure enough the Iroquois did appear bent on venturing 
across the stream, for, as the Pathfinder and his friends 
now kept their persons strictly concealed, their enemies 
began to think that the latter had taken to flight The 


THK jt a i nr iNDER, 


7 * 


course that which most white men would fol- 

lowed; but Mabel was under the care of those who were 
much too well skilled in forest warfare to neglect to de- 
fend the only pass that in truth offered even a probable 
chance for protection. 

As the Pathfinder had said, three warriors were in the 
canoe, two holding their rifles at a poise, kneeling in 
readiness to aim the deadly weapons; the other standing 
erect in the stern to wield the paddle. In this manner 
they left the shore, having had the precaution to haul the 
canoe, previously to entering it, so far up the stream as 
to get into the comparatively still water above the rift. 
It was apparent, at a glance, that the savage who guided 
the boat was skilled in the art, for the long, steady sweep 
of his paddle sent the light bark over the glassy surface of 
the tranquil river as if it were a feather floating in air. 

“Shall I fire?” demanded Jasper, in a whisper, trem- 
bling with eagerness to engage. 

“Not yet, boy; not yet. There are but three of them, 
and if Master Cap, yonder, knows how to use the pop- 
guns he carries in his belt, we may even let them land, 
and then we shall recover the canoe.” 

“ But Mabel ” 

“No fear for the sergeant’s daughter. She is safe in 
the hollow stump, you say, with the opening judgmati- 
cally hid by the brambles. If what you tell me of the 
manner in which you concealed the trail be true, the sweet 
one may lie there a month, and laugh at Mingoes. ” 

“ We are never certain — I wish I had brought her nearer 
to our own cover! ” 

“ What for, Eau-douce ? To place her pretty little head 
and leaping heart among flying bullets ? No — no — she is 
better where she is, because she is safer.” 

“ We are never certain — we thought ourselves safe behind 
the bushes, yet you saw that we were discovered,” 

“And the Mingo imp paid for his cur’osity, as them 
knaves are about to do ” 

At that instant the sharp report of a rifle was heard, 
when the Indian in the stern of the canoe leaped high into 
the air and fell into the water, holding the paddle in his 
hand. A small wreath of smoke floated out from among 
the bushes of the eastern shore, and was soon absorbed by 


72 


THE P/ 


. iNDER. 


“That is the Sarpent hissing!'” exclaimed the Path- 
finder, exultingly. “ A bolder or truer heart never beat 
in the breast of a Delaware. I am sorry that he interfered, 
but he could not have known our condition — he could not 
have known our condition.” 

The canoe no sooner lost its guide than it floated with 
the stream, and was soon sucked into the rapids of the rift. 
Perfectly helpless, the two remaining savages gazed wildly 
about them, but could offer no resistance to the power of 
the element. It was perhaps fortunate for Chingachgook 
that the attention of most of the Iroquois was intently 
given to the situation of those in the boat, else would his 
escape have been to the last degree difficult, if not totally 
impracticable. But not a foe moved, except to conceal 
his person behind some cover, and every eye was riveted 
on the two remaining adventurers. In less time than has 
been necessary to record those occurrences, the canoe was 
whirling and tossing in the rift, while both savages had 
stretched themselves in its bottom as the only means of 
preserving the equilibrium. This natural expedient soon 
failed them; for, striking a rock, the light craft rolled 
over, and the two warriors were thrown into the river. 
The water is seldom deep on a rift, except in particular 
places where it may have worn channels, and there was 
little to be apprehended from drowning, though their arms 
were lost, and the two savages were fain to make the best 
of their way to the friendly shore, swimming and wading 
as circumstances required. The canoe itself lodged on a 
rock in the centre of the stream, where for the moment it 
became useless to both parties. 

“Now is our time, Pathfinder,” cried Jasper, as the 
Iroquois exposed most of their persons while wading in 
the shallowest part of the rapids. “ The fellow up stream 
is mine, and you can take the lower.” 

So excited had the young man become, by all the inci- 
dents of the stirring scene, that the bullet sped from his 
rifle as he spoke, but uselessly, as it would seem, for both 
the fugitives tossed their arms in disdain. The Pathfinder 
did not fire. 

“No — no, Eau-douce,” he answered, “I do not seek 
blood without a cause, and my bullet is well leathered and 
carefully driven down, for the time of need, I love no 


THE PATHFINDER. 


73 


Mingo, as is just, seeing how much I have consorted with 
the Delawares, who are their mortal and nat’ral enemies; 
but I pull no trigger on one of the miscreants unless it be 
plain that his death will lead to some good end. The deer 
never leaped that fell by my hand wantonly. By living 
much alone with God in the wilderness, a man gets to feel 
the justice of such opinions. One life is sufficient for our 
present wants, and there may yet be occasion to use Kill- 
deer in behalf of the Sarpent, who has done an untimor- 
some thing to let them rampant devils so plainly know that 
he is in their neighborhood. As I’m a wicked sinner, there 
is one of them prowling along the bank, this very moment, 
like one of the boys of the garrison skulking behind a 
fallen tree to get a shot at a squirrel! ” 

As the Pathfinder pointed with his finger, while speak- 
ing, the quick eye of Jasper soon caught the object toward 
which it was directed. One of the young warriors of the 
enemy, burning with a desire to distinguish himself, had 
stolen from his party toward the cover in which Chingach- 
gook had concealed himself; and as the latter was deceived 
by the apparent apathy of his foes, as well as engaged in 
some further preparations of his own, he had evidently 
obtained a position where he got a sight of the Delaware. 
This circumstance was apparent by the arrangements the 
Iroquois was making to fire. For Chingachgook himself 
was not visible from the western side of the river. The 
rift was at a bend in the Oswego, and the sweep of the 
eastern shore formed a curve so wide that Chingachgook 
was quite near to his enemies in a straight direction, though 
separated by several hundred feet on the land, owing to 
which fact air lines brought both parties nearly equidistant 
from the Pathfinder and Jasper. The general width of 
the river being a little less than two hundred yards, such 
necessarily was about the distance between his two ob- 
servers and the skulking Iroquois. 

“The Sarpent must be thereabouts,” observed Path- 
finder, who never turned his eye for an instant from the 
young warrior; “and yet he must be strangely off his 
guard to allow a Mingo devil to get his stand so near, 
with manifest signs of bloodshed in his heart.” 

“See,” interrupted Jasper — “there is the body of the 
Indian the Delaware shot! It has drifted on a rock, 


74 


THE PATHFINDER. 


and the current has forced the head and face above the 
water.” 

“ Quite likely, boy; quite likely. Human natur’ is little 
better than a log of drift-wood when the life that was 
breathed into its nostrils has departed. That Iroquois will 
never harm any one more; but yonder skulking savage 
is bent on taking the scalp of my best and most tried 
friend ” 

The Pathfinder suddenly interrupted himself by raising 
his rifle, a weapon of unusual length, with admirable pre- 
cision, and firing the instant it got its level. The Iroquois 
on the opposite shore was in the act of aiming when the 
fatal messenger from Kill-deer arrived. His rifle was dis- 
charged, it is true, but it was with the muzzle in the air, 
while the man himself plunged into the bushes, quite evi- 
dently hurt, if not slain. 

“The skulking riptyle brought it on himself,” muttered 
Pathfinder, sternly, as, dropping the breech of his rifle, 
he carefully commenced reloading it. “ Chingachgook 
and I have consorted together since we were boys, and 
have fou’t in company on the Horican, the Mohawk, the 
Ontario, and all the other bloody passes atween the coun- 
try of the Frenchers and our own; and did the foolish 
knave believe that I would stand by and see my best 
friend cut off in an ambushment?” 

“We have served the Serpent as good a turn as he 
served us. Those rascals are troubled, Pathfinder, and 
are falling back into their covers, since they find we can 
reach them across the river.” 

“The shot is no great matter, Jasper — no great matter. 
Ask any of the 6oth, and they can tell you what Kill-deer 
can do, and has done, and that too when the bullets were 
flying about our heads like hailstones. No — no — this is 
no great matter, and the onthoughtful vagabond drew it 
down on himself.” 

“ Is that a dog or a deer swimming toward the shore ? ” 

Pathfinder started, for, sure enough, an object was 
crossing the stream above the rift, toward which, however, 
it was gradually setting by the force of the current. A 
second look satisfied both the observers that it was a man, 
and an Indian, though so concealed as at first to render 
\t doubtful. Some stratagem was aoprehended, and the 


THE PATHFINDER. 75 

closest attention was given to the movements of the 
stranger. 

“ He is pushing something before him as he swims, and 
his head resembles a drifting bush! ” said Jasper. 

“ 'Tis Injin deviltry, boy; but Christian honesty shall 
sarcumvent his arts.” 

As the man slowly approached, the observers began tc 
doubt the accuracy of their first impressions, and it was 
only when two-thirds of the stream were passed that the 
truth was really known. 

“The Big Serpent, as I live!” exclamed Pathfinder, 
looking at his companion, and laughing until the tears 
came into his eyes with pure delight at the success of the 
artifice. “ He has tied bushes to his head so as to hide 
it, put the horn on top, lashed the rifle to that bit of log 
he is pushing before him, and has come over to join his 
friends. Ah’s me! The times and times that he and I 
have cut such pranks, right in the teeth of Mingoes raging 
for our blood, in the great thoroughfare round and about 
Ty!” 

“It may not be the Serpent, after all, Pathfinder — I can 
see no feature that I remember. ” 

“ Featur’ ! Who looks for featur’s in an Injin ? No — • 
no, boy; 'tis the paint that speaks — and none but a Dela- 
ware would wear that paint. Them are his colors, Jasper, 
just as your craft on the lake wears St. George’s cross, 
and the Frenchers set their tablecloths to fluttering in the 
wind, with all the stains of fishbones and venison-steaks 
upon them. Now you see the eye, lad, and it is the eye 
of a chief. But, Eau-douce, fierce as it is in battle, and 
glassy as it looks from among the leaves,” here the Path- 
finder laid his finger lightly, but impressively, on his 
companion’s arm — “ I have seen it shed tears like rain. 
There is a soul and a heart under that red skin, rely on it; 
although they are a soul and a heart with gifts different 
from our own.” 

“ No one who is acquainted with the chief ever doubted 
that. ” 

“I know it,” returned the other, proudly, “for I have 
consorted with him in sorrow and in joy; in one I have 
found him a man, however stricken ; in the other, a chief 
who knows that the women of his tribe are the most 


76 


THE PATHFINDER. 


seemly in light merriment. But hist! It is too much like 
the people of the settlements to pour soft speeches into 
another’s ear; and the Sarpent has keen senses. He 
knows I love him, and that I speak well of him behind his 
back ; but a Delaware has modesty in his inmost natur’, 
though he will brag like a sinner when tied to a stake. ” 

The Serpent now reached the shore, directly in the front 
of his two comrades, with whose precise position he must 
have been acquainted before leaving the eastern side of 
the river, and rising from the water he shook himself like 
a dog and made the usual exclamation: 

“ Ugh!” 


CHAPTER VI. 

“ These, as they change, Almighty Father, these 
Are but the varied God.” — Thomson. 

As the chief landed, he was met by the Pathfinder, who 
addressed him in the language of the warrior’s people. 

“Was it well done, Chingachgook,” he said, reproach- 
fully, “ to ambush a dozen Mingoes alone? Kill-deer sel- 
dom fails me, it is true; but the Oswego makes a distant 
mark, and that miscreant showed little more than his head 
and shoulders above the bushes, and an onpractised hand 
and eye might have failed. You should have thought of 
this, chief; you should have thought of this! ” 

“ The Great Serpent is a Mohican warrior — he sees only 
his enemies when he is on the war-path, and his fathers 
have struck the Mingoes from behind since the waters 
began to run! ” 

“ I know your gifts — I know your gifts, and respect 
them, too. No man shall hear me complain that a red- 
skin obsarved red-skin natur’, but prudence as much be- 
comes a warrior as valor; and had not the Iroquois devils 
been looking after their friends who were in the water, a 
hot trail they would have made of your’n! ” 

“ What is the Delaware about to do ? ” exclaimed Jasper, 
who observed at that moment that the chief suddenly left 
the Pathfinder, and advancd to the water’s edge, appar- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


77 


ently with an intention of again entering the river. “ He 
will not be so mad as to return to the other shore for any 
trifle he may have forgotten! ” 

“ Not he — not he ; he is as prudent as he is brave, in 
the main, though so forgetful of himself in the late am- 
bushrqent. Harkee, Jasper,” leading the other a little 
aside just as they heard the Indian’s plunge into the water 
— “ harkee, lad ; Chingachgook is not a Christian white 
man, like ourselves, but a Mohican chief, who has his gifts 
and traditions to tell him what he ought to do; and he 
who consorts with them that are not strictly and altogether 
of his own kind had better leave natur’ and use to govern 
his comrades. A king’s soldier will swear and he will 
drink, and it is of little use to try to prevent him; a gen- 
tleman likes his delicacies, and a lady her feathers, and it 
does not avail much to struggle agin’ either; whereas an 
Indian’s natur’ and gifts are much stronger than these, 
and no doubt were bestowed by the Lord for wise ends, 
though neither you nor me can follow them in all their 
windings.” 

“ What does this mean ? See, the Delaware is swim- 
ming toward the body that is lodged on the rock. Why 
does he risk this ? ” 

“For honor, and glory, and renown, as great gentlemen 
quit their quiet homes, beyond seas, where, as they tell 
me, heart has nothing left to wish for — that is, such hearts 
as can be satisfied in a clearin’ — to come hither to live on 
game and fight the Frenchers. ” 

“ I understand you — your friend has gone to secure the 
scalp.” 

“ ’Tis his gift, and let him enjoy it. We are white men, 
and cannot mangle a dead enemy; but it is honor in the 
eyes of a red-skin to do so. It may seem singular to you, 
Eau-douce, but I’ve known white men of great name and 
character manifest remarkable ideas consarning their honor, 
I have.” 

“A savage will be a savage, Pathfinder, let him keep 
what company he may.” 

“ It is well for us to say so, lad, but, as I tell you, white 
honor will not always conform to reason or to the will of 
God. I have passed days thinking of them matters, out 
in the silent woods, and I have come to the opinion, boy, 


78 


THE PATHFINDER. 


that as Providence rules all things no gift is bestowed 
without some wise and reasonable end. If Injins are of 
no use, Injins would not have been created ; and I do 
suppose, could one dive to the bottom of things, it would 
be found that even the Mingo tribes were produced for 
some rational and proper purposes, though I confess it sur- 
passes my means to say what it is.” 

“ The Serpent greatly exposes himself to the enemy in 
order to get his scalp! This may lose us the day.” 

“Not in his mind, Jasper. That one scalp has more 
honor in it, according to the Sarpent’s notions of warfare, 
than a field covered with slain that kept tfre hair on their 
heads. Now, there was the fine young captain of the 6oth 
that threw away his life in trying to bring off a three- 
pounder from among the Trenchers in the last scrimmage 
we had* — he thought he was sarving honor; and I have 
known a young ensign wrap himself up in his colors, and 
go to sleep in his blood, fancying that he was lying on 
something softer even than buffalo-skins! ” 

“ Yes, yes; one can understand the merit of not hauling 
down an ensign.” 

“And these are Chingachgook’s colors — he will keep 
them to show his children’s children ” Here the Path- 

finder interrupted himself, shook his head in melancholy, 
and slowly added: “Ah’s me! no shoot of the old Mohi- 
can stem remains! He has no children to delight with his 
trophies; no tribe to honor by his deeds; he is a lone man 
in this world, and yet he stands true to his training and 
his gifts! There is something honest and respectable in 
these, you must allow, Jasper; yes, there is something de- 
cent in that.” 

Here a great outcry from among the Iroquois was suc- 
ceeded by the quick reports of their rifles; and so eager 
did the enemies become in the desire to drive the Dela- 
ware back from his victim that a dozen rushed into the 
river, several of whom even advanced near a hundred feet 
into the foaming current, as if they actually meditated a 
serious sortie. But Chingachgook continued as unmoved 
as he remained unhurt by the missiles, accomplishing his 
task with the dexterity of long habit. Flourishing his 
reeking trophy, he gave th war-whoop in its most fright- 
ful intonations, and, for a minute, the arches of the silent 


1 

THE PATHFINDER. 


79 


woods, and the deep vista formed by the course of the 
river, \echoed with cries so terrific that Mabel bowed her 
head \n irrepressible fear, while her uncle for a single in- 
stant Actually meditated flight. 

“Tnjs surpasses all I have heard from the wretches/* 
Jasper exclaimed, stopping his ears, equally in horror and 
disgust. 

“ ’Tia their music, boy; their drum and fife; their trum- 
pets and clarions. No doubt they love them sounds, for 
they stir up in them fierce feelin’s and a desire for blood,” 
returned the Pathfinder, totally unmoved. “ I thought 
them rather frightful when a mere youngster, but they 
have got to be like the whistle of the whip-poor-will, or the 
song of the cat-bird in my ear now. All the screeching 
riptyles that could stand atween the falls and the garrison 
would have no effect on my narves at this time of day. I 
say it not in boasting, Jasper, for the man that lets in 
cowardice through the ears must have but a weak heart, 
at the best; sounds and outcries being more intended to 
alarm women and children than such as scout in the forest 
and face the foe. I hope the Sarpent is now satisfied, for 
here he comes with the scalp at his belt.” 

Jasper turned away his head, as the Delaware rose from 
the water, in pure disgust at his late errand, but the Path- 
finder regarded his friend with the philosophical codlness 
of one who had made up his mind to be indifferent to 
things he deemed immaterial. As the Delaware passed 
deeper into the bushes with a view to wring his trifling 
calico dress and to prepare his rifle for service, he gave 
one glance of triumph at his companions, and then all 
emotion connected with the recent exploit seemed to cease. 

“ Jasper,” resumed the guide, “step down to the station 
of Master Cap and ask him to join us: we have little time 
for a council, and yet our plans must be laid quickly, for 
it will not be long before them Mingoes will be plotting 
our ruin.” 

The young man complied, and in a few minutes the four 
were assembled near the shore, completely concealed from 
the view of their enemies, while they kept a vigilant watch 
over the proceedings of the latter, in order to consult on 
their own future movements. 

By tb»* time the day had so far advanced as to leave but 


So 


THE PATHFINDER. 


a few minutes between the passing light and an obscurity 
that promised to be even deeper than common. The sun 
had already set, and the twilight of a low latitude would 
soon pass into the darkness of deep night. Most of the 
hopes of the party rested on this favorable circumstance, 
though it was not without its dangers also, as the very ob- 
scurity which would favor their escape would be as likely 
to conceal the movements of their wily enemies. 

“The moment has come, men/’ Pathfinder commenced, 
“ when our plans must be coolly laid, in order that we may 
act together, and with a right understanding of our errand 
and gifts. In an hour’s time, these woods will be as dark 
as midnight, and, if we are ever to gain ihe garrison, it 
must be done under favor of this advantage. What say 
you, Master Cap ? For, though none of the most experi- 
enced in combats and retreats in the woods, your years 
entitle you to speak first in a matter like this and in a 
council.” 

“ And my near relations to Mabel, Pathfinder, ought to 
count for something ” 

“I don’t know that — I don’t know that. Regard is re- 
gard, and liking liking, whether it be a gift of natur’, or 
come from one’s own judgment and inclinations. I will 
say nothing for the Sarpent, who is past placing his mind 
on the women, but as for Jasper and myself, we are as 
ready to stand atween the sergeant’s daughter and the 
Mingoes, as her own brave father himself could be. Do 
I say more than the truth, lad ? ” 

“ Mabel may count on me to the last drop of my blood,” 
said Jasper, speaking low, but with intense feeling. 

“Well, well,” rejoined the uncle, “we will not discuss 
this matter, as all seem willing to serve the girl, and deeds 
are better than words. In my judgment, all we have to 
do is to go on board the canoe, when it gets to be so dark 
the enemy’s lookouts can’t see us, and run for the haven 
as soon as wind and tide will allow.” 

“That is easily said, but not so easily done,” returned 
the guide. “We shall be more exposed in the river than 
by following the woods, and then there is the Oswego rift 
below us, and I am far from sartain that Jasper himself can 
carry a boat safely through it in the dark. What say you, 
lad, as to your own skill and judgment?” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


81 


•*I am of Master Cap’s opinion about using the canoe. 
Mabel is too tender to walk through swamps and among 
roots of trees in such a night as this promises to be ; and„ 
then, I always feel myself stouter of heart and truer of eye 
when afloat than when ashore.” 

“ Stout of heart yoa always be, lad, and I think toler» 
ably true of eye for one who has lived so much in broad 
sunshine and so little in the woods. Ah’s me! the Ontario 
has no trees, or it would be a plain to delight a hunter’s 
heart. As to your opinion, friends, there is much for and 
much agin’ it. For it, it may be said water leaves no 
trail ” 

“ What do you call the wake ? ” interrupted the pertina- 
cious and dogmatical Cap. 

“ Anan ? ” 

“ Go on,” said Jasper; “ Master Cap thinks he is on the 
ocean. Water leaves no trail ” 

“ It leaves none, Eau-douce, here a-way, though I do not 
pretend to say what it may leave on the sea. Then, a canoe 
is both swift and easy when it floats with the current, 
and the tender limbs of the sergeant’s daughter will be 
favored by its motion. But, on the other hand, the river 
will have no cover but the clouds in the heavens; the rift 
is a ticklish thing for boats to venture into, even by day- 
light; and it is six fairly measured miles by water from 
this spot to the garrison. Then, a trail on the land is not 
easy to be found in the dark. I am troubled, Jasper, to 
say which way we ought to counsel and advise.” 

“ If the Serpent and myself could swim into the river 
and bring off the other canoe,” the young sailor replied, 
“ it would seem to me that our safest course would be the 
water.” 

“ If, indeed! and yet it might easily be done as soon as 
it was a little darker. Well, well, considering the ser- 
geant’s daughter and her gifts, I am not sartain it will not 
be the best. Though, were we only a party of men, it 
would be like a hunt to the lusty and brave, to play at 
hide-and-seek with yonder miscreants on the other shore. 
Jasper,” continued the guide, into whose character there 
entered no ingredient that belonged to vain display or 
theatrical effect, “ will you undertake to bring in the 
canoe ? ” 


82 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ I will undertake anything that will serve and protect 
Mabel, Pathfinder.” 

“ That is an upright feeling, and I suppose it is naturh 
The Sarpent, who is nearly naked already, can help you. 
and this will be cutting off one of the means of them 
devils to work their harm.” 

This material point being settled, the different members 
of the party prepared themselves to put the project into 
execution. The shades of evening fell fast upon the for- 
est, and, by the time all was ready for the attempt, it was 
found impossible to discern objects on the opposite shore. 
Time now pressed, for Indian cunning could devise so 
many expedients for passing so narrow a stream that the 
Pathfinder was getting impatient to quit the spot. While 
Jasper and his companion entered the river, armed with 
nothing but their knives and the Delaware’s tomahawk, 
observing the greatest caution not to betray their move- 
ments, the guide brought Mabel from her place of conceal- 
ment, and, bidding her and Cap proceed along the shore 
to the foot of the rapids, he got into the canoe that re- 
mained in his possession, in order to carry it to the same 
place. 

This was easily effected. The canoe was laid against 
the bank, and Mabel and her uncle entered it, taking their 
seats as usual; while the Pathfinder, erect in the stern, 
held by a bush, in order to prevent the swift stream from 
sweeping them down its current. Several minutes of in- 
tense and breathless expectation followed, while they 
awaited the result of the bold attempt of their comrades. 

It will be understood that the two adventurers were 
compelled to swim across a deep and rapid channel ere 
they could reach a part of the rift that admitted of wad- 
ing. This portion of the enterprise was soon effected ; and 
Jasper and the Serpent struck the bottom, side by side, at 
the same instant. Having secured firm footing, they took 
hold of each other’s hands, and waded slowly and with 
extreme caution in the supposed direction of the canoe. 
But the darkness was already so deep that they soon as- 
certained they were to be but little aided by the sense of 
sight, and that their search must be conducted on that 
species of instinct which enables the woodsman to find his 
way when the sun is hid, no stars appear, and all would 


THE PATHFINDER. 


83 


seem chaos to one less accustomed to the mazes of the 
forest. Under these circumstances Jasper submitted to 
be guided by the Delaware, whose habits best fitted him 
to take the lead. Still, it was no easy matter to wade 
amid the roaring element at that hour, and retain a clear 
recollection of the localities. By the time they believed 
themselves to be in the centre of the stream, the two shores 
were discernible merely by masses of obscurity denser than 
common, the outlines against the clouds being barely dis- 
tinguishable by the ragged tops of the trees. Once or twice 
the wanderers altered their course in consequence of un- 
expectedly stepping into deep water, for they knew that 
the boat had lodged on the shallowest part of the rift. In 
short, with this fact for their compass, Jasper and his com- 
panion wandered about in the water for near a quarter of 
an hour, and at the end of that period, which began to 
appear interminable to the young man, they found them- 
selves apparently no nearer the object of their search than 
they had been at its commencement. Just as the Dela- 
ware was about to stop, in order to inform his associate 
that they would do well to return to the land in order to 
take a fresh departure, he saw the form of a man moving 
about in the water, almost within reach of his arm. Jasper 
was at his side and he at once understood that the Iroquois 
were engaged on the same errand as he was himself. 

“ Mingo!” he uttered in Jasper’s ear; “the Serpent 
will show his brother how to be cunning.” 

The young sailor caught a glimpse of the figure at that 
instant, and the startling truth also flashed on his mind. 
.Understanding the necessity of trusting all to the Dela- 
ware chief, he kept back, while his friend moved cautiously 
in the direction in which the strange form had vanished. 
In another moment it was seen again, evidently moving 
toward themselves. The waters made such an uproar 
that little was to be apprehended from ordinary sounds, 
and the Indian, turning his head, hastily said: 

“ Leave it to the cunning of the Great Serpent.” 

“Ugh!” exclaimed the strange savage, adding, in the 
language of his people ; “ the canoe is found, but there were 
none to help me. Come, let us raise it from the rock.” 

“Willingly,” answered Chingachgook, who understood 
the dialect; “lead — we will follow," 


8 4 


THE PATHFINDER. 


The stranger, unable to distinguish between voices and 
accents amid the raging of the rapid, led the way in the 
necessary direction, and, the two others keeping close at 
his heels, all three speedily reached the canoe. The Iro- 
quois laid hold of one end, Chingachgook placed himself 
in the centre, and Jasper went to the opposite extremity, 
as it was important that the stranger should not detect the 
presence of a pale-face, a discovery that might be made 
by the parts of the dress the young man still wore, as well 
as by the general appearance of his head. 

“Lift,” said the Iroquois, in the sententious manner of 
his race; and by a trifling effort the canoe was raised 
from the rock, held a moment in the air to empty it, and 
then placed carefully on the water in its proper position. 
All three held it firmly,, lest it should escape from their 
hands, under the pressure of the violent current ; while the 
Iroquois, who led, of course, being at the upper end of 
the boat, took the direction of the eastern shore, or toward 
the spot his friends awaited his return. 

As the Delaware and Jasper well knew, there must be sev- 
eral more of the Iroquois on the rift ; from the circumstance 
that their own appearance had occasioned no surprise in 
the individual they had met, both felt the necessity of ex- 
treme caution. Men less bold and determined would have 
thought that they were incurring too great a risk by thus 
venturing into the midst of their enemies ; but these hardy 
borderers were unacquainted with fear, accustomed to 
hazard, and so well understood the necessity of at least 
preventing their foes from getting the boat that they 
would have cheerfully encountered even greater risks to 
secure their object. So all-important to the safety of 
Mabel, indeed, did Jasper deem the possession or the de- 
struction of this canoe that he had drawn his knife, and 
stood ready to rip up the bark, in order to render the boat 
temporarily unserviceable, should anything occur to com- 
pel the Delaware and himself to abandon their prize. 

In the mean time the Iroquois, who led the way, pro- 
ceeded slowly through the water in the direction of his 
own party, still grasping the canoe, and dragging his re- 
luctant followers in his train. Once, Chingachgook raised 
his tomahawk and was about to bury it in the brain of his 
confiding and unsuspicious neighbor, but the probability 


THE PATHFINDER. 


85 


that the death-cry or the floating body might give the 
alarm induced that wary chief to change his purpose. At 
the next moment he regretted this indecision, for the three 
who clung to the canoe suddenly found themselves in the 
centre of a party of no less than four others who were in 
quest of it. 

After the usual brief, characteristic exclamations of sat- 
isfaction, the savages eagerly laid hold of the canoe, for 
all seemed impressed with the necessity of securing this 
important boat, the one side in order to assail their foes, 
and the other to secure their retreat. The addition to the 
party, however, was so unlooked for, and so completely 
gave the enemy the superiority, that, for a few moments, 
the ingenuity and address of even the Delaware were at 
fault. The five Iroquois, who seemed perfectly to under- 
stand their errand, pressed forward toward their own shore, 
without pausing to converse; their object being, in truth, 
to obtain the paddles, which they had previously secured, 
and to embark three or four warriors, with all their rifles 
and powder-horns, the want of which had alone prevented 
their crossing the river by swimming as soon as it was dark. 

In this manner the body of friends and foes, united, 
reached the margin of the eastern channel, where, as in the 
case of the western, the river was too deep to be waded. 
Here a short pause succeeded, it being necessary to deter- 
mine the manner in which the canoe was to be carried 
across. One of the four who had just reached the boat 
was a chief, and the habitual deference which the Ameri- 
can Indian pays to merit, experience, and station kept 
the others silent until this individual had spoken. 

The halt greatly added to the danger of discovering the 
presence of Jasper in particular, who, however, had the 
precaution to throw the cap he wore into the bottom of the 
canoe. Being without his jacket and shirt, the outline 
of his figure in the obscurity would be less likely to at- 
tract observation. His position, too, at the stern of the 
canoe, a little favored his concealment, the Iroquois natu- 
rally keeping their looks directed the other way. Not so 
with Chingachgook. This warrior was literally in the 
midst of his most deadly foes, and he could scarcely stir 
without touching one of them. Yet he was apparently 
unmoved, though he kept all his senses on the alert, m 


86 


THE PATHFINDER. 


readiness to escape or to strike a blow at the proper mo- 
ment By carefully abstaining from looking toward those 
behind him, he lessened the chances of discovery, and 
waited with the indomitable patience of an Indian for the 
instant when he should be required to act. 

“ Let all my young men but two, one at each end of the 
canoe, cross and get their arms,” said the Iroquois chief. 
“ Let the two push ©ver the boat.” The Indians quietly 
obeyed, leaving Jasper at the stern, and the Iroquois who 
had found the canoe at the bow of the light craft, Chin- 
gachgook burying himself so deep in the river as to be 
passed by the others without detection. The splashing in 
the water, the tossing arms, and the calls of one to other 
soon announced that the four who had last joined the party 
were already swimming. As soon as this fact was certain, 
the Delaware rose, resumed his former station, and began 
to think the moment for action was come. One less ha- 
bitually under self-restraint than this warrior would prob- 
ably have now aimed his meditated blow; but Chingacb- 
gook knew there were more Iroquois behind him on the 
rift, and he was a warrior much too trained and experi- 
enced to risk anything unnecessarily. He suffered tb,. 
Indian at the bow of the canoe to push off into the deep 
water, and then all three were swimming in the direction 
of the eastern shore. Instead, however, of helping the 
canoe across the swift current, no sooner did the Delaware 
and Jasper find themselves within the influence of its great- 
est force than both began to swim in a way to check their 
farther progress across the stream. Nor was this done 
suddenly, or in the incautious manner in which a civilized 
man would have been apt to attempt the artifice, but warily, 
and so gradually that the Iroquois at the bow fancied at 
first he was merely struggling against the strength of the 
current. Of course, while acted on by these opposing 
efforts, the canoe drifted down stream, and in about a 
minute it was floating in still deeper water at the foot of 
the rift. Here, however, the Iroquois was not slow in find- 
ing that something unusual retarded their advance, and 
looking back he first learned chat he was resisted by the 
efforts of his companions. 

That second nature which grows up through habit in- 
stantly told the young Iroquois that he was alone with 


THE PATHFINDER. 


87 


enemies. Dashing the water aside, he sprang at the throat 
of Chingachgook, and the two Indians, relinquishing their 
hold of the canoe, seized each other like tigers. In the 
midst of the darkness of that gloomy night, and floating 
in an element so dangerous to man, when engaged in 
deadly strife, they appeared to forget everything but their 
fell animosity and their mutual desire to conquer. 

Jasper had now complete command of the canoe, which 
flew off like a feather impelled by the breath, under the 
violent reaction of the struggles of the two combatants. 
The first impulse of the youth was to swim to the aid of 
the Delaware, but the importance of securing the boat 
presented itself with tenfold force, while he listened to the 
heavy breathings of the warriors as they throttled each 
other, and he proceeded as fast as possible toward the 
western shore. This he soon reached, and, after a short 
search, he succeeded in discovering the remainder of the 
party, and in procuring his clothes. A few words sufficed 
to explain the situation in which he had left the Delaware, 
and the manner in which the canoe had been obtained. 

When those who had been left behind had heard the 
explanations of Jasper, a profound stillness reigned among 
them, each listening intently in the vain hope of catching 
some clew to the result of the fearful struggle that had 
just taken place, if it were not still going on in the water. 
Nothing was audible beyond the steady roar of the gush- 
ing river; it being a part of the policy of their enemies on 
the opposite shore to observe the most deathlike stillness. 

“Take this paddle, Jasper,” said Pathfinder, calmly, 
though the listeners thought his voice sounded more mel- 
ancholy than usual, “ and follow with your own canoe It 
is unsafe for us to remain here longer.” 

“ But the Serpent ? ” 

“ The Great Serpent is in the hands of his own Deity, 
and will live or die according to the intentions of Provi- 
dence. We can do him no good, and may risk too much 
by remaining here in idleness, like women talking over 
distresses. This darkness is very precious ” 

A loud, long, piercing yell came from the shore, and 
cut short the words of the guide. 

“ What is the meaning of that uproar, Master Path- 
finder ? ” demanded Cap. “It sounds more like the out- 


88 


THE PATHFINDER. 


cries of devils than anything that can come from the 
throats of Christians and men. M 

“ Christians they are not, and do not pretend to be, and 
do not wish to be; and in calling them devils you have 
scarcely misnamed them. That yell is one of rejoicing, 
and it is as conquerors they have given it. The body of 
the Serpent, no doubt, dead or alive, is in their power! ” 

“ And we ” exclaimed Jasper, who felt a pang of gen- 

erous regret, as the idea that he might have averted the 
calamity presented itself to his mind, had he not deserted 
his comrade. 

“We can do the chief no good, lad, and must quit this 
spot as fast as possible. ” 

“Without one attempt to rescue him! — without even 
knowing whether he is dead or living ? ” 

“Jasper is right,” said Mabel, who could speak, though 
her voice sounded huskily and smothered; “I have no 
fears, uncle, and will stay here until we know what has 
become of our friend.” 

“ This seems reasonable, Pathfinder, ” put in Cap. “ Your 
true seaman cannot well desert a messmate; and I am glad 
to find that motives so correct exist among those fresh- 
water people.” 

“Tut — tut!” returned the impatient guide, forcing the 
canoe into the stream as he spoke, “ ye know nothing, and 
ye fear nothing. If ye value your lives, think of reaching 
the garrison, and leave the Delaware in the hands of Provi- 
dence. Ah’s me! The deer that goes too often to the 
lick meets the hunter at last! ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


b 9 


CHAPTER VII. 

u And is this — Yarrow? — this the stream 
Of which my fancy cherished 
So faithfully a waking dream ? 

An image that hath perished ? 

Oh, that some minstrel’s harp were near, 

To utter notes of gladness, 

And chase this silence from the air, 

That fills my heart with sadness ! ” — Wordsworth. 

The scene was not without sublimity; and the ardent, 
generous-minded Mabel felt her blood thrill in her veins 
and her cheek flush as the canoe shot into the strength of 
the stream to quit the spot. The darkness of the night 
had lessened by the dispersion of the clouds; but the over- 
hanging woods rendered the shores so obscure that the 
boats floated down the current in a belt of gloom that 
effectually secured them from detection. Still there was 
necessarily a strong feeling of insecurity in all on board 
them; and even Jasper, who by this time began to tremble 
in behalf of the girl at every unusual sound that arose 
from the forest, kept casting uneasy glances around him, 
as he drifted on, in company. The paddle was used 
lightly, and only with exceeding care, for the slightest 
sound, in the breathing stillness of that hour and place, 
might apprise the watchful ears of the Iroquois of their 
position. 

All the accessories added to the impressive grandeur of 
her situation, and contributed to render the moment much 
the most exciting that had ever occurred in the brief ex- 
istence of Mabel Dunham. Spirited, accustomed to self- 
reliance, and sustained by the pride of considering herself 
a soldier’s daughter, she could hardly be said to be under 
the influence of fear, yet her heart often beat quicker than 
common, her fine blue eye lighted with an exhibition of a 
resolution that was wasted in the darkness, and her quick- 
ened feelings came in aid of the real sublimity that be- 
longed to the scene, and to the incidents of the night. 

“Mabel!” said the suppressed voice of Jasper as the 


90 


THE PATHFINDER. 


two canoes floated so near each other that the hand of the 
young man held them together, “ you have no dread, you 
trust freely to our care, a»d willingness to protect you ? ” 

“ I am a soldier’s daughter, as you know, Jasper West- 
ern, and ought to be ashamed to confess fear.” 

“ Rely on me — on us all. Your uncle, Pathfinder, the 
Delaware, were the poor fellow here, I myself, will risk 
everything rather than harm should reach you.” 

“ I believe you, Jasper,” returned the girl, her hand un- 
consciously playing in the water. “ I know that my uncle 
loves me, and will never think of himself until he has first 
thought of me; and I believe you are all my father’s 
friends, and would willingly assist his child. But I am 
not so feeble and weak-minded as you may think, for 
though only a girl from the towns, and, like many of that 
class, a little disposed to see danger where there is none, 
I promise you, Jasper, no foolish fears of mind shall stand 
in the way of your doing your duty.” 

“ The sergeant’s daughter is right, and she is worthy of 
being honest Thomas Dunham’s child,” put in the Path- 
finder. “Ah’s me! pretty one, many is the time that your 
father and I have scouted and marched together on the 
flanks and rear of the enemy, in nights darker than this 
and that, too, when we did not know but the next moment 
would lead us into a bloody ambushment. I was at his 
side when he got the wound in his shoulder, and the honest 
fellow will tell you, when you meet, the manner in which 
we contrived to cross the river that lay in our rear, in 
order to save his scalp.” 

“ He has told me,” said Mabel, with more energy, per- 
haps, than her situation rendered prudent. “ I have his 
letters, in which he has mentioned all that, and I thank 
you from the bottom of my heart for the service. God 
will remember it, Pathfinder; and there is no gratitude 
that you can ask of the daughter which she will not cheer- 
fully repay for her father’s life.” 

“ Ay, that is the way with all your gentle and pure- 
hearted creatur’s! I have seen some of you before, and 
have heard of others! The sergeant, himself, has talked 
to me of his own young days; and of your mother, and of 
the manner in which he courted her, and of all the cross- 
ings " disapp’intments, until he succeeded at last.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


or 


“ My mother did not live long to repay him for what he 
did to win her,” said Mabel, with a trembling lip. 

“ So he tails me. The honest sergeant has kept nothing 
back, for, being so many years my senior, he has looked 
on me, in our many scoutings together, as a sort of son.” 

“ Perhaps, Pathfinder,” observed Jasper, with a huski- 
ness in a voice that defeated the attempt at pleasantry, 
“ he would be glad to have you for one in reality.” 

“And if he did, Eau-douce, where would be the sin of 
it ? He knows what I am on a trail or a scout, and he 
has seen me often face to face with the Frenchers. I have 
sometimes thought, lad, that we all ought to seek for 
wives; for the man that lives altogether in the woods, and 
in company with his enemies or his prey, gets to lose some 
of the feelin’ of kind, in the end.” 

“ From the specimen I have seen,” observed Mabel, “ I 
should say that they who live much in the forest forget to 
learn many of the deceits and vices of the towns.” 

“ It is not easy, Mabel, to dwell always in the presence 
of God, and not feel the power of his goodness. I have 
attended church-sarvice in the garrisons, and tried hard, 
as becomes a true soldier, to join in the prayers; for, 
though no enlisted sarvant of the king, I fight his battles 
and sarve his cause — and so I have ende’vored to worship 
garrison-fashion, but never could raise within me the sol- 
emn feeling and true affection that I feel when alone with 
God in the forest. There I seem to stand face to face 
with my Master; all around me is fresh and beautiful, as 
it came from his hand, and there is no nicety or doctrine 
to chill the feelin’s. No, no; the woods are the true 
temple, a’ter all, for there the thoughts are free to mount 
higher even than the clouds.” 

“You speak the truth, Master Pathfinder,” said Cap, 
“and a truth that all who live much in solitude know. 
What, for instance, is the reason that seafaring men, in 
general, are so religious and conscientious in all they do, 
but the fact that they are so often alone with Providence, 
and have so little to do with the wickedness of the land ? 
Many and many is the time that I have stood my watch, 
under the equator, perhaps, or in the Southern Ocean, 
when the nights are lighted up with the fires of heaven ; 
and F s the time, I can tell you, my heartier bring 


92 


THE PATHFINDER. 


a man to his bearings, in the way of his sins. I have rat- 
tled down mine, again and again, under such circum- 
stances, until the shrouds and lanyards of conscience have 
fairly creaked with the strain. I agree with you, Master 
Pathfinder, therefore, in saying, if you want a truly reli- 
gious man, go to sea, or go into the woods.” 

“Uncle, I thought seamen had little credit, generally, 
for their respect for religion.” 

“All d — d slander, girl! Ask your seafaring man what 
his real, private opinion is of your landsmen, parsons, and 
all, and you will hear the other side of the question. I 
know no class of men who have been so belied as seafar- 
ing men in this particular; and it is all because they do 
not stay at home to defend themselves and pay the clergy. 
They haven’t as much doctrine, perhaps, as some ashore, 
but as for all the essentials of Christianity the seamen 
beats the landsman hand-over-hand.” 

“I will not answer for all this, Master Cap,” returned 
Pathfinder, “ but I dare say some of it may be true. I 
want no thunder and lightning to remind me of my God, 
nor am I as apt to bethink me most of all his goodness, 
in trouble and tribulations, as on a calm, solemn, quiet 
day in a forest, when his voice is heard in the creaking of 
a dead branch or in the song of a bird, as much, in my 
ears at least, as it is ever heard in uproar and gales. How 
is it with you, Eau-douce ? You face the tempests as well 
as Master Cap, and ought to know something of the feel- 
in’s of storms ? ” 

“ I fear that I am too young and too inexperienced to 
be able to say much on such a subject,” modestly answered 
Jasper. 

“ But you have your feelings ? ” said Mabel, quickly. 
“ You cannot — no one can live among such scenes without 
feeling how much they ought to trust in God! ” 

“ I shall not belie my training so much as to say I do not 
sometimes think of these things, but I fear it is not as 
often or as much as I ought.” 

“Fresh water!” resumed Cap, pithily; “you are not to 
expect too much of the young man, Mabel. I think they 
call you sometimes by a name which would insinuate all 
this. Eau-de-vie , is it not ? ” 

44 Eau-douce,” quietly replied Jasper, who from sailing 


THE PATHFINDER. 


93 


on the lake had acquired a knowledge of French, as well 
as of several of the Indian dialects. “ It is a name the 
Iroquois nave given me to distinguish me from some of 
my companions who once sailed upon the sea, and are 
fond of filling the ears of the natives with stories of their 
great salt-water lakes.” 

“ And why shouldn’t they ? I dare say they do the sav- 
ages no harm. They may not civilize them, but they will 
not make them greater barbarians than they are. Ay — 
ay — Oh !-the-deuce, that must mean the white brandy, 
which is no great matter after all, and may well enough 
be called the deuce, for deuced stuff it is! ” 

“ The signification of Eau-douce is sweet water, or water 
that can be drunk, and it is the manner in which the 
French express fresh water,” rejoined Jasper, a little net- 
tled at the distinction made by Cap, although the latter 
was the uncle of Mabel. 

“And how the devil do you-make water out of Oh!-the- 
deuce, when it means brandy in eau-de-vie ? This may 
be the French used here-away, but it is not that they use 
in Burdux and other French ports; besides, among sea- 
men eau always means brandy, and eau-de-vie brandy of a 
high proof. I think nothing of your ignorance, young 
man, for it is natural to your situation, and cannot be 
helped. If you will return with me, and make a v’y’ge 
or two on the Atlantic, it will serve you a good turn the 
remainder of your days; and Mabel, there, and all the 
other young women near the coast will think all the better 
of you, should you live to be as old as one of the trees in 
this forest.” 

“Nay, nay,” interrupted the single-hearted and gene- 
rous guide; “Jasper wants not for fri’nds in this region, I 
can assure you; and though seeing the world, according 
to his habits, may do him good as well as another, we shall 
think none the worse of him if he never quits us. Eau- 
douce, or Eau-de-vie, he is a brave, true-hearted youth, 
and I always sleep as sound when he is on the watch as if 
I was up and stirring myself; ay, and for that matter, 
sounder too. The sergeant’s daughter, here, doesn’t be- 
lieve it necessary for the lad to go to sea in order to make 
a man of him, or one who is worthy to be respected and 
esteemed. ” 


94 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Mabei made no reply to this appeal, and she even looked 
toward the western shore, although the darkness rendered 
the natural movement unnecessary to conceal her face. 
But Jasper felt that there was a necessity for his saying 
something; the pride of youth and manhood revolting at 
the idea of his being in a condition not to command the 
respect of his fellows, or the smiles of his equals of the 
other sex. Still he was unwilling to utter aught that might 
be considered harsh to the uncle of Mabel; and his self- 
command was, perhaps, more creditable than his modesty 
and spirit. 

“ I pretend not to things I don’t possess,” he said, “ and- 
lay no claim to any knowledge of the ocean or of naviga- 
tion. We steer by the stars and the compass on these 
lakes, running from headland to headland, and, having 
little need of figures and calculations, make no use of 
them. But we have our claims, notwithstanding, as I have 
often heard, from those who have passed years on the 
ocean. In the first place, we have always the land aboard, 
and much of the time on a lee shore, and that, I have fre- 
quently heard, makes hardy sailors. Our gales are sud- 
den and severe, and we are compelled to run for our ports 
at all hours ” 

“You have leads,” interrupted Cap. 

“ They are of little use, and are seldom cast.” 

“ The deep-seas ” 

“ I have heard of such things, but I confess I never saw 
one.” 

“ Oh !-the-deuce, with a vengeance. A trader, and no 
deep-sea! Why, boy, you cannot pretend to be anything 
of a mariner. Who the devil ever heard of a seaman with- 
out his deep-sea ? ” 

“ I don’t pretend to any particular skill, Master Cap— — -” 

“Except in shooting falls, Jasper; except in shooting 
falls and rifts,” said Pathfinder, coming to the rescue; 
“in which business even you, Master Cap, must allow 
he has some handiness. In my judgment, every man is 
to be esteemed or condemned according to his gifts; and 
if Master Cap is useless in running the Oswego Falls, I 
try to remember that he is useful when out of sight of 
land; and if Jasper be useless when out of sight of land, 

I do not forget that he has a true eye and steady hand 
when running the falls.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


95 


“But Jasper is not useless — would not be useless when 
out of sight of land,” said Mabel, with a spirit and energy 
that caused her clear, sweet voice to be startling amid the 
solemn stillness of that extraordinary scene. “ No one 
can be useless there who can do so much here, is what I 
mean; though I dare say he is not as well acquainted with 
ships as my uncle.” 

“ Ay, bolster each other up in your ignorance/' returned 
Cap, with a sneer; “we seamen are so much outnumbered 
when ashore that it is seldom we get our dues: but when 
you want to be defended, or trade is to be carried on, there 
is outcry enough for us.” 

“ But, uncle, landsmen do not come to attack our coasts 
so that seamen only meet seamen.” 

“So much for ignorance! Where are all the enemies 
that have landed in this country, French and English, let 
me inquire, niece ? ” 

“ Sure enough, where are they ? ” ejaculated Pathfinder. 
“ None can tell better than we who dwell in the woods, 
Master Cap. I have often followed their line of march 
by bones bleaching in the rain, and have found their trail 
by graves years after they and their pride had vanished 
together. Ginyrals and privates, they lay scattered through- 
out the land, so many proofs of what men are when led on 
by their love of great names, and the wish to be more than 
their fellows.” 

“ I must say, Master Pathfinder, that you sometimes 
utter opinions that are a little remarkable for a man who 
lives by the rifle; seldom snuffing the air but he smells 
gunpowder, or turning out of his berth but to bear down 
on an enemy.” 

“ If you think I pass my days in warfare against my 
kind, you know neither me nor my history. The man that 
lives in the woods and on the frontiers must take the 
chances of the things among which he dwells. For this I 
am not accountable, being but an humble and powerless 
hunter, and scout, and guide. My real calling is to hunt 
for the army on its marches and in times of peace; al- 
though I am more especially engaged in the service of one 
officer, who is now absent in the settlements, where I never 
follow him. No — no — bloodshed and warfare are not my 
real gifts, but peace and mercy. Still, i must face the 


9 6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


enemy as well as another, and as for a Mingo, I look upon 
him as a man looks on a snake — a creatur’ to be put be- 
neath the heel whenever a fitting occasion offers.” 

“Well, well — I have mistaken your calling, which I had 
thought as regularly warlike as that of a ship’s gunner. 
There is my brother-in-law, now; he has been a soldier 
since he was sixteen, and he looks upon his trade as every 
way as respectable as that of a seafaring man, which is a 
point I hardly think it worth while to dispute with him.” 

“ My father has been taught to believe that it is honor- 
able to carry arms,” said Mabel, “for his father was a 
soldier before him.” 

“Yes, yes,” resumed the guide, “most of the sergeant’s 
gifts are martial, and he looks at most things in this world 
over the barrel of his musket. One of his notions, now, 
is to prefar a king’s piece to a regular double-sighted, 
long-barrelled rifle. Such consaits will come over men 
from long habit; and prejudice is perhaps the commonest 
failing of human natur’.” 

“ Ashore, I grant you,” said Cap. “ I never return from 
a v’y’ge but I make the very same remark. Now, the last 
time I came in, I found scarcely a man in all York who 
would think of matters and things in general as I thought 
about them myself. Every man I met appeared to have 
bowsed all his idees up into the wind’s eye, and when he 
did fall off a little from his one-sided notions, it was com- 
monly to ware short round on his heel, and to lay up as 
close as ever on the other tack.” 

“ Do you understand this, Jasper ? ” the smiling Mabel 
half-whispered to the young man, who still kept his own 
canoe so near as to be close at her side. 

“ There is not so much difference between salt and fresh 
water that we who pass our time on them cannot compre- 
hend each other. It is no great merit, Mabel, to under- 
stand the language of our trade.” 

“Even religion,” continued Cap, “isn’t moored in ex- 
actly the same place it was in my young days. They veer 
and haul upon it ashore, as they do on all other things, 
and it is no wonder if now and then they get jammed. 
Everything seems to change but the compass, and even 
that has its variations.” 

“Well,” returned the Pathfinder, “I thought Christian- 
ity and the compass both pretty stationary.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


97 


tl So they are, afloat, bating the variations. Religion at 
sea is just the same thing to-day that it was when I first 
put my hand into the tar-bucket. No one will dispute it 
who has the fear of God before his eyes. I can see no 
difference between the state of religion on board ship now, 
and what it was when I was a younker. But it is not so 
ashore, by any means. Take my word for it, Master 
Pathfinder, it is a difficult thing to find a man — I mean a 
landsman — who views these matters to-day exactly as he 
looked at them forty years ago.” 

“ And yet God is unchanged — his works are unchanged 
— his holy Word is unchanged, and all that ought to bless 
and honor his name should be unchanged, too! ” 

“Not ashore. That is the worst of the land; it is all 
the while in motion, I tell you, though it looks so solid. 
If you plant a tree, and leave it, on your return from a 
three-years’ v’y’ge yon don’t find it at all the sort of thing 
you left it. The towns grow, and new streets spring up, 
the wharves are altered, and the whole face of the earth 
undergoes change. Now, a ship comes back from an 
India v’y’ge just the thing she sailed, bating the want of 
paint, wear and tear, and the accidents of the sea.” 

“That is too true, Master Cap, and more’s the pity. 
Ah’s me! the things they call improvements and better- 
ments are undermining and defacing the land! The glori- 
ous works of God are daily cut down and destroyed, and 
the hand of man seems to be upraised in contempt of his 
mighty will. They tell me there are fearful signs of what 
we may all come to, to be met with west and south of the 
great lakes, though I have never yet visited that region ! ” 
“ What do you mean, Pathfinder ? ” modestly inquired 
Jasper. 

“ I mean the spots marked by the vengeance of Heaven, 
or which, perhaps, have been raised up as solemn warn- 
ings to the thoughtless and wasteful, here-away. They 
call them prairies; and I have heard as honest Delawares 
as I ever knew declare that the finger of God has been 
laid so heavily on them that they are altogether without 
trees. This is an awful visitation to befall innocent ’arth, 
and can only mean to show to what frightful consequences 
a heedless desire to destroy may lead.” 

“ And yet I have seen settlers who have much fancied 


98 


THE PATHFINDER. 


these open spots, because they saved them the toil of clear- 
ing. You relish your bread, Pathfinder, and yet wheat will 
not ripen in the shade.” 

“ But honesty will, and simple wishes, and a love of 
God, Jasper. Even Master Cap will tell you a treeless 
plain must resemble a desert island.” 

“Why, that’s as it may be,” put in Cap. “Desert 
islands, too, have their uses, for they serve to correct the 
reckonings by. If my taste is consulted, I should never 
quarrel with a plain for wanting trees. As nature has 
given a man eyes to look about with, and a sun to shine, 
were it not for shipbuilding, and now and then a house, I 
can see no great use in a tree, especially one that don’t 
bear monkeys or fruit.” 

To this remark the guide made no answer, beyond a low 
sound, intended to enjoin silence on his companions. 
While the desultory conversation just related had been 
carried on in subdued voices, the canoes were dropping 
slowly down with the current, within the deep shadows of 
the western shore, the paddles being used merely to, pre- 
serve the desired direction and proper positions. The 
strength of the stream varied materially, the water being 
seemingly still in places, while in other reaches it flowed 
at a rate exceeding two or even three miles in the hour. 
On the rifts it even dashed forward with a velocity that 
was appalling to the unpractised eye. Jasper was of opin- 
ion that they might drift down with the current to the 
mouth of the river in two hours from the time they left 
the shore,' and he and the Pathfinder had agreed on the 
expediency of suffering the canoes to float of themselves 
for a time, or at least until they had passed the first dan- 
gers of their new movements. The dialogue had been 
carried on in voices, too, guardedly low; for, though the 
quiet of deep solitude reigned in that vast and nearly 
boundless forest, nature was speaking with her thousand 
tongues, in the eloquent language of night in a wilderness. 
The air sighed through ten thousand trees, the water rip- 
pled, and at places even roared along the shores; and 
now and then was heard the creaking of a branch, or a 
trunk, as it rubbed against some object similar to itself, 
under the vibrations of a nicely balanced body. All living 
sounds had ceased. Once, it is true, the Pathfinder fancied 


THE PATHFINDER. 


99 


he heard the howl of a distant wolf, of which a few prowled 
through these woods, but it was a transient and doubtful 
cry, that might possibly have been attributed to the imag- 
ination. When he desired his companions, however, to 
cease talking, in the manner just mentioned, his vigilant 
ear had caught the peculiar sound that is made by the 
parting of a dried branch of a tree, and which, if his senses 
did not deceive him, came from the western shore. All 
who are accustomed to that particular sound will under- 
stand how readily the ear receives it, and how easy it is to 
distinguish the tread which breaks the branch from every 
other noise of the forest. 

“ There is the footstep of a man on the bank,” said 
Pathfinder to Jasper, speaking neither in a whisper nor 
yet in a voice loud enough to be heard at any distance. 
“ Can the accursed Iroquois have crossed the river already, 
with their arms, and without a boat ? ” 

“It may be the Delaware! He would follow us, of 
course, down this bank, and would know where to look for 
us. Let me draw closer in to the shore, and reconnoitre.” 

“ Go, boy, but be light with the paddle, and on no ac- 
count ventur’ ashore on an onsartinty. ” 

“ Is this prudent ? ” demanded Mabel, with an impetu- 
osity that rendered her incautious in modulating her sweet 
voice. 

“ Very imprudent if you speak so loud, fair one. I like 
your voice, which is soft and pleasing, after listening so 
long to the tones of men; but it must not be heard too 
much or too frequently just now. Your father, the hon- 
est sergeant, will tell you, when you meet him, that silence 
is a double virtue on a trial. Go, Jasper, and do justice 
to your own character for prudence.” 

Ten anxious minutes succeeded the disappearance of 
the canoe of Jasper, which glided away from that of the 
Pathfinder so noiselessly that it had been swallowed up in 
the gloom before Mabel allowed herself to believe the 
young man would really venture alone on a service that 
struck her imagination as singularly dangerous. During 
this time the party continued to float with the current, no 
one speaking, and it might almost be said no one breath- 
ing, so strong was the general desire to catch the minutest 
sound that should come from the shore. But the same 


IOO 


THE PATHFINDER. 


solemn, we might indeed say sublime, quiet reigned as 
before; the washing of the water as it piled up against 
some slight obstruction, and the sighing of the trees, along 
interrupting the slumbers of the forest. At the end of the 
period mentioned, the snapping of dried branches was again 
faintly heard, and the Pathfinder fancied that the sound of 
smothered voices reached him. 

“ I may be mistaken,” he said, “ for the thoughts often 
fancy what the heart wishes; but them were notes like the 
low tones of the Delaware! ” 

“ Do the dead of the savages ever walk ? ” demanded 
Cap. 

“ Ay, and run too in their happy hunting-grounds, but 
nowhere else. A red-skin finishes with the ’arth after the 
breath quits the body. It is not one of his gifts to linger 
around his wigwam when his hour has passed.” 

“I see some object on the water,” whispered Mabel, 
whose eye had not ceased to dwell on the body of gloom 
with close intensity since the disappearance of Jasper. 

“ It is the canoe! ” returned the guide, greatly relieved. 
“ All must be safe, or we should have heard from the lad.” 

In another minute the two canoes, which became visible 
to those they carried only as they drew near each other, 
again floated side by side, and the form of Jasper was 
recognized at the stern of his own boat. The figure of a 
second man was seated in the bow, and, as the young 
sailor so wielded his paddle as to bring the face of his 
companion near the eyes of the Pathfinder and Mabel, 
they both recognized the person of the Delaware. 

“ Chingachgook — my brother!” said the guide, in the 
dialect of the other’s people, a tremor shaking his voice 
that betrayed the strength of his feelings — “ chief of the 
Mohicans! my heart is very glad. Often have we passed 
through blood and strife together, but I was afraid it was 
never to be so again.” 

“Ugh! — Mingoes — squaws! — three of their scalps 
hang at my girdle. They do not know how to strike the 
great Serpent of the Delawares. Their hearts have no 
blood, and their thoughts are on their return path, across 
the waters of the Great Lake.” 

“ Have you been among them, chief; and what has be- 
come of the warrior who was in the river ? ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


£Oi 


“ He has turned into a fish, and lies at the bottom with 
the eels! Let his brothers bait their hooks tor him. Path- 
finder, I have counted the enemy, and have touched their 
rifles.” 

“ Ah! I thought he would be venturesome! ” exclaimed 
the guide, in English. “ The risky fellow has been in the 
midst of them, and has brought us back their whole his- 
tory. Speak, Chingachgook, and I will make our friends 
as knowing as ourselves.” 

The Delaware now related, in a low, earnest manner, 
the substance of all his discoveries since he was last seen 
struggling with his foe in the river. Of the fate of his an- 
tagonist he said no more, it not being usual for a warrior 
to boast in his more direct and useful narratives. As soon 
as he had conquered in that fearful strife, however, he 
swam to the eastern shore, landed with caution, and wound 
his way in among the Iroquois, concealed by the darkness, 
undetected, and, in the main, even unsuspected. Once, 
indeed, he had been questioned, but, answering that he was 
Arrowhead, no further inquiries were made. By the pass- 
ing remarks, he soon ascertained that the party was out 
expressly to intercept Mabel and her uncle, concerning 
whose rank, however, they had evidently been deceived. 
He also ascertained enough to justify the suspicion that 
Arrowhead had betrayed them to their enemies for some 
motive that it was not now easy to reach, as he had not 
yet received the reward for his services. 

Pathfinder communicated no more of this intelligence 
to his companions than he thought might relieve their ap- 
prehensions, intimating, at the same time, that now was 
the moment for exertion, the Iroquois not having entirely 
recovered from the confusion created by their losses. 

“We shall find them at the rift, I make no manner T>f 
doubt,” he continued; “and there it will be our fate to 
pass them or to fall into their hands. The distance to the 
garrison will then be so short that I have been thinking 
of the plan of landing with Mabel, myself, that I may take 
her in by some of the byways and leave the canoes to 
their chances in the rapids.” 

“It will never succeed, Pathfinder,” eagerly interrupted 
Jasper. “Mabel is not strong enough to tramp the 
woods in a night like this. Put her ^y skiff, and I 


102 


THE PATHFINDER. 


will lose my life or carry her through the rift safely, dark 
as it is.” 

“No doubt you will, lad; no one doubts your willing- 
ness to do anything to sarve the sergeant’s daughter; but 
it must be the eye of Providence, and not your own, that 
will take you safely through the Oswego rift in a night like 
this.” 

“ And who will lead her safely to the garrison if she 
land ? Is not the night as dark on shore as on water ? or 
do you think I know less of my calling than you know of 
yours ? ” 

“ Spiritedly said, lad; but if I should lose my way in 
the dark, and I believe no man can say truly that such a 
thing ever yet happened to me — but, if I should lose my 
way, no other harm would come of it than to pass a night 
in the forest; whereas a false turn of the paddle or a 
broad sheer of the canoe would put you and the young 
woman into the river, out of which it is more than prob- 
able the sergeant’s daughter would never come alive.” 

“ I will leave it to Mabel herself ; I am certain that she 
will feel more secure in the canoe.” 

“I have great confidence in you both,” answered the 
girl, “ and have no doubt that either will do all he can to 
prove to my father how much he values him ; but I confess 
I should not like to quit the canoe, with the certainty we 
have of there being enemies like those we have seen in the 
forest. But my uncle can decide for me in this matter.” 

“ I have no liking for the woods,” said Cap, “ while one 
has a clear drift like this on the river. Besides, Master 
Pathfinder, to say nothing of the savages, you overlook 
the sharks.” 

“ Sharks! w T ho ever heard of sharks in the wilderness ? ” 

“ Ay ! sharks, or bears, or wolves — no matter what you 
call a thing, so it has the mind and power to bite.” 

“ Lord, lord, man; do you dread any creature that is to 
be found in the American forest ? A catamount is a skeary 
animal, I will allow, but then it is nothing in the hands of 
a practised hunter. Talk of the Mingoes and their devil- 
tries, if you will ; but do not raise a false alarm about bears 
and wolves ” 

“ Ay, ay, Master Pathfinder, this is all well enough for 
you, who probably know the name of every creature you 


THE PATHFINDER. 


103 

would meet. Use is everything, and ’t makes a man bold 
when he might otherwise be bashful. I have known sea- 
men in the low latitudes swim for hours at a time among 
sharks fifteen or twenty feet long, and think no more of 
what they were doing than a countryman thinks of whom 
he is among when he comes out of a church door of a 
Sunday afternoon.” 

“ This is extraordinary! ” exclaimed Jasper, who in good 
sooth had not yet acquired that material part of his trade, 
the ability to spin a yarn, “ I have always heard that it 
was certain death to venture in the water among sharks! ” 

“ I forgot to say that the lads always took capstan-bars, 
or gunners’ hand-spikes, or crows with them, to rap the 
beasts over the noses if they got to be troublesome. No 
— no — I have no liking for bears and wolves, though a 
whale, in my eye, is very much the same sort of fish as a 
red herring after it is dried and salted. Mabel and I had 
better stick to the canoe. ” 

“ Mabel would do well to change canoes,” added Jasper. 
“This of mine is empty, and even Pathfinder will allow 
that my eye is surer than his own on the water.” 

“That I will cheerfully, boy. The water belongs to 
your gifts, and no one will deny that you have improved 
them to the utmost. You are right enough in believing 
that the sergeant’s daughter will be safer in your canoe 
than in this; and though I would gladly keep her near 
myself, I have her welfare too much at heart not to give 
her honest advice. Bring your canoe close alongside, 
Jasper, and I will give you what you must consider a very 
precious treasure.” 

“ I do consider it,” returned the youth, not losing a mo- 
ment in complying with the request, when Mabel passed 
from one canoe to the other, taking her seat on the effects 
which had hitherto composed its sole cargo. 

As soon as the arrangement was made, the canoes sep- 
arated a short distance, and the paddles were used, though 
with great care to avoid making any noise. The conversa- 
tion gradually ceased, and, as the dreadful rift was ap- 
proached, all became impressed with the gravity of the 
moment. That their enemies would endeavor to reach 
this point before them was almost certain; and it seemed 
50 little probable any one should attempt to pass it, in the 


104 


THE PATHFINDER. 


profound obscurity which reigned, that Pathfinder was 
confident parties were on both sides of the river in the hope 
of intercepting them when they might land. He would 
not have made the proposal he did, had he not felt sure of 
his own ability to convert this very anticipation of success 
into a means of defeating the plans of the Iroquois. As 
the arrangement now stood, however, everything depended 
on the skill of those who guided the canoes; for, should 
either hit a rock, if not split asunder, it would almost cer- 
tainly be upset, and then would come not only all the 
hazards of the river itself, but, for Mabel, the certainty ot 
falling into the hands of her pursuers. The utmost cir- 
cumspection consequently became necessary, and each one 
was too much engrossed with his own thoughts to feel a 
disposition to utter more than was called for by the exi- 
gencies of the case. 

As the canoes stole silently along, the roar of the rift 
became audible, and it required all the fortitude of Cap to 
keep his seat while these boding sounds were approached, 
amid a darkness that scarcely permitted a view of the out- 
lines of the wooded shore, and of the gloomy vault above 
his head. He retained a vivid impression of the falls, and 
his imagination was not now idle in swelling the dangers 
of the rift to a level with those of the headlong descent he 
had that day made, and even to increase them, under the 
influence of doubt and uncertainty. In this, however, 
the old mariner was mistaken, for the Oswego Rift and 
the Oswego Falls are very different in their characters and 
violence; the former being no more than a rapid that 
glances among shallows and rocks, while the latter really 
deserved the name it bore, as has been already shown. 

Mabel certainly felt distrust and apprehension; but her 
entire situation was sc novel, and her reliance on her guide 
so great, that she retained a self-command that might not 
have existed had she clearer perceptions of the truth, or 
been better acquainted with the helplessness of men, when 
placed in opposition to the power and majesty of nature. 

“ This is the spot you have mentioned ? ” she said to 
Jasper, when the roar of the rift came fresh and distinct 
on her ear. 

“It is; and I beg you to have confidence in me. We 
are not old acquaintances, Mabel, but we live many days 


THE PATHFINDER. I05 

in one, ni this wilderness. I think already that I have 
known you years.” 

• “ And I do not feel as if you were a stranger to me, 
Jasper; i have every reliance on your s^ill, as well as on 
your disposition to serve me.” 

“ We shall see — we shall see. Pathfinder is striking the 
rapids too near the centre of the river. The bed of the 
water is closer to the eastern shore; but I cannot make 
him hear me now. Hold firmly to the canoe, Mabel, and 
fear nothing.” 

At the next moment the swift current sucked them into 
the rift, and for three or four minutes the awestruck rather 
than the alarmed girl saw nothing around her but sheets 
of glancing foam; heard nothing but the roar of waters. 
Twenty times did the canoe appear about to dash against 
some curling and bright wave, that showed itself even amid 
that obscurity, and as often did it glide away again un- 
harmed, impelled by the vigorous arm of him who gov- 
erned its movements. Once, and once only, did Jasper 
seem to lose command of his frail bark, during which brief 
space it fairly whirled entirely round ; but, by a desperate 
effort, he brought it again under control, recovered the 
lost channel, and was soon rewarded for all his anxiety by 
finding himself floating quietly in the deep water below 
the rapids, secure from every danger and without having 
taken in enough of the element to serve for a draught. 

“All is over, Mabel,” the young man cheerfully cried. 
“ The danger is past, and you may now, indeed, hope to 
meet your father this very night.” 

“ God be praised! Jasper, we shall owe this great hap- 
piness to you! ” 

“The Pathfinder may claim a full share in the merit; 
but what has become of the other canoe ? ” 

“I see something near us on the water; is it not the 
boat of our friends ? ” 

A few strokes of the paddle brought Jasper at the side 
of the object in question. It was the other canoe, empty 
and bottom upward. No sooner did the young man ascer- 
tain this fact, than he began to search for the swimmers; 
and, to his great joy, Cap was soon discovered drifting 
down with the current; the old seaman preferring the 
chances of drowning to those of landing among savages. 


I0 g THE PATHFINDER. 

that dense, interminable forest that Mabel could now 
picture to herself, through her recollections, with its hid- 
den, glassy lakes, its dark, rolling streams, and its world 
of nature! 

Turning from this view, our heroine felt her cheek 
fanned by a fresh and grateful breeze, such as she had 
not experienced since quitting the far-distant coast. Here 
a new scene presented itself ; although expected, it was 
not without a start, and a low exclamation indicative of 
pleasure, that the eager eyes of the girl drank in its beau- 
ties. To the north, and east, and west, in every direction, 
in short, over one entire half of the novel panorama, lay 
a field of rolling water. The element was neither of that 
glassy green which distinguishes the American waters in 
general, nor yet of the deep blue of the ocean; the color 
being of a slightly amber hue, that scarcely affected its 
limpidity. ’No land was to be seen, with the exception of 
the adjacent coast, which stretched to the right and left, 
in an unbroken outline of forest, with wide bays and low 
headlands of points; still, much of the shore was rocky, 
and into its caverns the sluggish waters occasionally rolled, 
producing a hollow sound that resembled the concussions 
of a distant gun. No sail whitened the surface, no whale 
or other fish gambolled on its bosom, no sign of use or 
service rewarded the longest and most minute gaze of its 
boundless expanse. It was a scene, on one side, of ap- 
parently endless forests, while a waste of seemingly inter- 
minable water spread itself on the other. Nature had 
appeared to delight in producing grand effects, by setting 
two of her principal agents in bold relief to each other, 
neglecting details; the eye, turning from the broad carpet 
of leaves to the still broader field of fluid, from the end- 
less but gentle heavings of the lake to the holy calm and 
poetical solitude of the forest, with wonder and delight. 

Mabel Dunham, though unsophisticated, like most of 
her countrywomen at that period, and ingenuous and frank 
as any warm-hearted and sincere-minded girl well could 
be, was not altogether without a feeling for the poetry of 
this beautiful earth of ours. Although she could scarcely 
be said to be educated at all, for few of her sex at that 
day and in this country received much more than the 
rudiments of plain English instruction, still she had been 


THE PATHFINDER. 


IO9 

taught much more than was usual for young women in her 
own station of life, and, in one sense certainly, she did 
credit to her teaching. The widow of a field officer who 
formerly belonged to the same regiment as her father, had 
taken the child in charge at the death of its mother, and, 
under the care of this lady, Mabel had acquired some 
tastes and many ideas which otherwise might always have 
remained strangers to her. Her situation in the family 
had been less that of a domestic than of an humble com- 
panion, and the results were quite apparent in her attire, 
her language, her sentiments, and even in her feelings, 
though neither, perhaps, rose to the level of those which 
would properly characterize a lady. She had lost the 
coarser and less refined habits and manners of one in her 
original position, without having quite reached a point that 
disqualified her for the situation in life that the accidents 
of birth and fortune would probably compel her to fill. 
All else that was distinctive and peculiar to her belonged 
to natural character. 

With such antecedents, it will occasion the reader no 
wonder if he learn that Mabel viewed the novel scene 
before her with a pleasure far superior to that produced by 
vulgar surprise. She felt its ordinary beauties as most 
would have felt them, but she had also a feeling for its 
sublimity — for that softened solitude, that calm grandeur 
and eloquent repose, that ever pervade broad views of 
natural objects which are yet undisturbed by the labors 
and struggles of man. 

“ How beautiful! ” she exclaimed, unconscious of speak- 
ing, as she stood on the solitary bastion, facing the air 
from the lake, and experiencing the genial influence of its 
freshness pervading both her body and her mind — “ how 
very beautiful; and yet how singular! ” 

The words and the train of her ideas were interrupted 
by a touch of a finger on her shoulder, and turning, in the 
expectation of seeing her father, Mabel found Pathfinder 
at her side. He was leaning quietly on his long rifle, and 
laughing in his quiet manner, while, with an outstretched 
arm, he swept over the whole panorama of land and water. 

“Here you have both our domains,” he said, “Jasper’s 
and mine. The lake is for him and the woods are for me. 
The lad sometimes boasts of the breadth of his dominions, 


I IO 


THE PATHFINDER. 


but I tell him my trees make as broad a plain on the face 
of this ’arth as all his water. Well, Mabel, you are fit for 
either, for I do not see that fear of the Mingoes, or night 
marches, can destroy your pretty looks.” 

“ It is a new character for the Pathfinder to appear in, 
to compliment a silly girl.” 

“ Not silly, Mabel; no, not in the least silly. The ser- 
geant’s daughter would do discredit to her worthy father 
were she to do or say anything that, in common honesty, 
could be called silly.” 

“ Then she must take care and not put too much faith 
in treacherous, flattering words. But, Pathfinder, I rejoice 
to see you among us again ; for though Jasper did not seem 
to feel much uneasiness, I was afraid some accident might 
have happened to you and your friend on that frightful 
rift. ” 

“ The lad knows us both, and was sartin that we should 
not drown, which is scarcely one of my gifts. It would 
have been hard swimming, of a sartainty, with a long-bar- 
relled rifle in the hand ; and, what between the game, and 
the savages, and the French, Kill-deer and I have gone 
through too much in company to part very easily. No — 
no — we waded ashore, the rift being shallow enough for 
that, with small exceptions, and we landed with our arms 
in our hands. We had to take our time for it, on account 
of the Iroquois, I will own; but as soon as the skulking 
vagabonds saw the lights which the sergeant sent down to 
your canoe, we well understood they would decamp, since 
a visit might have been expected from some of the garri- 
son. So it was only sitting patiently on the stones, for an 
hour, and all the danger was over. Patience is the great- 
est of virtues in a woodsman.” 

“ I rejoice to hear this, for fatigue itself could scarcely 
make me sleep, for thinking what might befall you.” 

“ Lord bless your tender little heart, Mabel! But this 
is the way with all you gentle ones. I must say, on my 
part, howsoever, that I was right glad to see the lanterns 
come down to the waterside, which I knew to be a sure 
sign oi your safety. We hunters and guides are rude beings, 
but we have our feelin’s, our idees, as well as any giniral 
in the army. Both Jasper and I would have died before 
you should have come to harm — we would.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Ill 


*‘1 thank you for all you did for me, Pathfinder; from 
the bottom of my heart I thank you, and, depend on it, 
my father shall know it. I have already told him much, 
but still have a duty to perform on this subject. ” 

“ Tush, Mabel ! The sergeant knows what the woods 
be, and what men, true red men, be, too. There is little 
need to tell him anything about it. Well, now you have 
met your father, do you find the honest old soldier the sort 
of person you expected to find ? ” 

“ He is my own dear father, and received me as a soldier 
and a father should receive a child. Have you known 
him long, Pathfinder ? ” 

“ That is as people count time. I was just twelve when 
th sergeant took me on my first scouting, and that is now 
more than twenty years ago. We had a tramping time of 
it, and, as it was before your day, you would have had no 
father had not the rifle been one of my nat’ral gifts.” 

“ Explain yourself.” 

“ It is too simple for many words. We were ambushed, 
and the sergeant had got a bad hurt, and would have lost 
his scalp but for a sort of inbred turn I took to the weapon. 
We brought him off, however, and a handsomer head of 
hair, for his time of life, is not to be found in the rijiment 
than the sergeant carries about him this blessed day.” 

“ You saved my father’s life, Pathfinder!” exclaimed 
Mabel, unconsciously, though warmly taking one of his 
hard, sinewy hands into both her own. “ God bless you 
for this, too, among your other good acts! ” 

“ Nay, I did not say that much, though I believe I did 
save his scalp. A man might live without a scalp, and so 
I cannot say I saved his life. Jasper may say that much 
consarning you; for, without his eye and arm the canoe 
would never have passed the rift in safety on a night like 
the last. The gifts of the lad are for the water, while 
mine are for the hunt and the trail. He is yonder in the 
cove there, looking after the canoes, and keeping an eye 
on his beloved little craft. To my eye, there is no likelier 
youth in these parts than Jasper Western.” 

For the first time since she had left her room, Mabel 
now turned her eyes beneath her, and got a view of what 
might be called the foreground of the remarkable picture 
she had been studying with so much pleasure. The Os- 


I IO 


THE PATHFINDER. 


but I tell him my trees make as broad a plain on the face 
of this ’arth as all his water. Well, Mabel, you are fit for 
either, for I do not see that fear of the Mingoes, or night 
marches, can destroy your pretty looks/’ 

44 It is a new character for the Pathfinder to appear in, 
to compliment a silly girl.” 

44 Not silly, Mabel; no, not in the least silly. The ser- 
geant’s daughter would do discredit to her worthy father 
were she to do or say anything that, in common honesty, 
could be called silly.” 

44 Then she must take care and not put too much faith 
in treacherous, flattering words. But, Pathfinder, I rejoice 
to see you among us again ; for though Jasper did not seem 
to feel much uneasiness, I was afraid some accident might 
have happened to you and your friend on that frightful 
rift.” 

44 The lad knows us both, and was sartin that we should 
not drown, which is scarcely one of my gifts. It would 
have been hard swimming, of a sartainty, with a long-bar- 
relled rifle in the hand ; and, what between the game, and 
the savages, and the French, Kill-deer and I have gone 
through too much in company to part very easily. No — 
no — we waded ashore, the rift being shallow enough for 
that, with small exceptions, and we landed with our arms 
in our hands. We had to take our time for it, on account 
of the Iroquois, I will own; but as soon as the skulking 
vagabonds saw the lights which the sergeant sent down to 
your canoe, we well understood they would decamp, since 
a visit might have been expected from some of the garri- 
son. So it was only sitting patiently on the stones, for an 
hour, and all the danger was over. Patience is the great- 
est of virtues in a woodsman.” 

44 1 rejoice to hear this, for fatigue itself could scarcely 
make me sleep, for thinking what might befall you.” 

44 Lord bless your tender little heart, Mabel! But this 
is the way with all you gentle ones. I must say, on my 
part, howsoever, that I was right glad to see the lanterns 
come down to the waterside, which I knew to be a sure 
sign oiyour safety. We hunters and guides are rude beings, 
but we have our feelin’s, our idees, as well as any giniral 
in the army. Both Jasper and I would have died before 
you should have come to harm — we would.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Ill 


“I thank you for all you did for me, Pathfinder; from 
the bottom of my heart I thank you, and, depend on it, 
my father shall know it. I have already told him much, 
but still have a duty to perform on this subject.” 

“ Tush, Mabel ! The sergeant knows what the woods 
be, and what men, true red men, be, too. There is little 
need to tell him anything about it. Well, now you have 
met your father, do you find the honest old soldier the sort 
of person you expected to find ? ” 

“ He is my own dear father, and received me as a soldier 
and a father should receive a child. Have you known 
him long, Pathfinder ? ” 

“ That is as people count time. I was just twelve when 
th sergeant took me on my first scouting, and that is now 
more than twenty years ago. We had a tramping time of 
it, and, as it was before your day, you would have had no 
father had not the rifle been one of my nat’ral gifts.” 

“ Explain yourself.” 

“ It is too simple for many words. We were ambushed, 
and the sergeant had got a bad hurt, and would have lost 
his scalp but for a sort of inbred turn I took to the weapon. 
We brought him off, however, and a handsomer head of 
hair, for his time of life, is not to be found in the rijiment 
than the sergeant carries about him this blessed day.” 

“ You saved my father’s life, Pathfinder!” exclaimed 
Mabel, unconsciously, though warmly taking one of his 
hard, sinewy hands into both her own. “ God bless you 
for this, too, among your other good acts! ” 

“ Nay, I did not say that much, though I believe I did 
save his scalp. A man might live without a scalp, and so 
I cannot say I saved his life. Jasper may say that much 
consarning you; for, without his eye and arm the canoe 
would never have passed the rift in safety on a night like 
the last. The gifts of the lad are for the water, while 
mine are for the hunt and the trail. He is yonder in the 
cove there, looking after the canoes, and keeping an eye 
on his beloved little craft. To my eye, there is no likelier 
youth in these parts than Jasper Western.” 

For the first time since she had left her room, Mabel 
now turned her eyes beneath her, and got a view of what 
might be called the foreground of the remarkable picture 
she had been studying with so much pleasure. The Os- 


I 12 


THE PATHFINDER. 


wego threw its dark waters into the lake between banks of 
some height; that on its eastern side being bolder and 
projecting farther north than that on its western. The 
fort was on the latter, and immediately beneath it were a 
few huts of logs, which, as they could not interfere with 
the defence of the place, had been erected along the strand 
for the purpose of receiving and containing such stores as 
were landed, or were intended to be embarked, in the 
communications between the different ports on the shores 
of Ontario. There were two low, curved, gravelly points, 
that had been formed, with surprising regularity, by the 
counteracting forces of the northerly winds and the swift 
current, and which, inclining from the storms of the lake, 
formed two coves within the river. That on the western 
side was the most deeply indented, and, as it also had the 
most water, it formed a sort of picturesque little port for 
the post. It was along the narrow strand that lay between 
the low height of the fort and the water of this cove that 
the rude buildings just mentioned had been erected. 

Several skiffs, batteaux, and canoes, were hauled up on 
the shore, and in the cove itself lay the little craft from 
which Jasper obtained his claim to be considered a sailor. 
She was cutter-rigged, might have been of forty tons bur- 
den, was so neatly constructed and painted as to have 
something of the air of a vessel-of-war, though entirely 
without quarters, and rigged and sparred with so scrupu- 
lous a regard to proportions and beauty, as well as fitness 
and judgment, as to give her an appearance that even 
Mabel at once distinguished to be gallant and trim. Her 
mould was admirable, for a wright of great skill had sent 
her drafts from England, at the express request of the 
officer who had caused her to be constructed ; her paint, 
dark, warlike, and neat ; and the long, coach-whip pennant 
that she wore at once proclaimed her to be the property 
of the king, tier name was the Scud. 

“That, then, is the vessel of Jasper! ” said Mabel, who 
associated the master of the little craft quite naturally 
with the cutter itself. “ Are there many others on this 
lake ? ” 

“ The Frenchers have three; one of which, they tell me, 
is a real ship, such as are used on the ocean, another a 
brig, and a third a cutter, like the Scud, here, which they 


THE PATHFINDER. 


113 

call the Squirrel, in their own tongue, however; and which 
seems to have a natural hatred of our own pretty Doat, for 
Jasper seldom goes out that the Squirrel is not at his 
heels.” 

“And is Jasper one to run from a Frenchman, though 
he appears in the shape of a squirrel, and that, too, on the 
water ? ” 

“ Of what use would valor be without means of turning 
it to account ? Jasper is a brave boy, as all on this fron- 
tier know ; but he has no gun, except a little howitzer, and 
then his crew consists of only two men besides himself, 
and a boy. I was with him in one of his trampooses, and 
the youngster was risky enough, for he brought us so near 
the enemy that the rifles began to talk; but the Frenchers 
carry cannon, and ports, and never show their faces out- 
side of Frontenac without having some twenty men, besides 
their Squirrel, in their cutter. No — no — this Scud was 
built for flying, and the major says he will not put her in 
a fighting humor by giving her men and arms, lest she 
should take him at his word, and get her wings clipped. 
I know little of these things, for my gifts are not in that 
way ; but I see the reason of the thing — I see its reason, 
though Jasper does not.” 

“Ah! here is my uncle, none the worse for his swim, 
coming to look at this inland sea.” 

Sure enough, Cap, who had announced his approach by 
a couple of lusty hems, now made his appearance on the 
bastion, where, after nodding to his niece and her com- 
panion, he made a deliberate survey of the expanse of 
water before him. In order to effect this at his ease, the 
mariner mounted on one of the old iron guns, folded his 
arms across his breast, and balanced his body, as if he felt 
the motion of a vessel. To complete the picture, he had 
a short pipe in his mouth. 

“Well, Master Cap,” asked the Pathfinder, innocently, 
for he did not detect the expression of contempt that was 
gradually settling on the features of the other, “ is it not 
a beautiful sheet, and fit to be named a sea ?” 

“ This, then, is what you call your lake ? ” demanded 
Cap, sweeping the northern horizon with his pipe. “ I 
say, is this really your lake ? ” 

“ Sartain; and. if the judgment of one who has lived on 


THE PATHFINDER. 


114 

the shores of many others can be taken, a very good lake 
it is.” 

“Just as I expected! A pond in dimensions, and a 
scuttle-butt in taste. It is all in vain to travel inland, in 
the hope of seeing anything either full grown or useful. 
I knew it would turn out just in this way.” 

“ What is the matter with Ontario, Master Cap ? It is 
large and fair to look at, and pleasant enough to drink, 
for those who cannot get at the water of the springs.” 

“Do you call this large?” asked Cap, again sweeping 
the air with the pipe. “ I will just ask you what there is 
large about it. Didn’t Jasper himself confess that it was 
only some twenty leagues from shore to shore ? ” 

“ But, uncle,” interposed Mabel, “ no land is to be seen, 
except here on our own coast. To me it looks exactly 
like the ocean.” 

“ This bit of a pond look like the ocean! Well, Magnet, 
that from a girl who has had real seamen in her family is 
downright nonsense. What is there about it, pray, that 
has even the outline of a sea on it ? ” 

“Why, there is water — water — water — nothing but 
water, for miles on miles, far as the eye can see.” 

“And isn’t there water — water — water — nothing but 
water for miles on miles in your rivers, that you have been 
canoeing through, too — ay, and ‘as far as the eye can 
see,’ in the bargain ?” 

“Yes, uncle, but the rivers have their banks, and there 
are trees along them, and they are narrow.” 

“ And isn’t this a bank where we stand — don’t these 
soldiers call this the bank of the lake, and ar’n’t there 
trees in thousands, and ar’n’t twenty leagues narrow 
enough, of all conscience ? Who the devil ever heard of 
the banks of the ocean, unless it might be the banks that 
are under the water ? ” 

“ But, uncle, we cannot see across this lake, as we can 
see across a river.” 

“There you are out, Magnet. Ar’n’t the Amazon, and 
Orinoco, and La Plata rivers, and can you see across them ? 
Harkee, Pathfinder, I very much doubt if this strip of 
water here be even a lake; for to me it appears to be only 
a river. You are by no means particular abc n t your geog- 
raphy, I find, up here in the woods.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Il 5 

"'There you are out, Master Cap. There is a river, and 
a noble one, too, at each end of it; but this is old Ontario 
before you, and, though it is not my gift to live on a lake, 
to my judgment there are few better than this.” 

“ And, uncle, if we stood on the beach at Rockaway, 
what more should we see than we now behold ? There is 
a shore on one side, or banks there, and trees, as well as 
those which are here.” 

“ This is perverseness, Magnet, and young girls should 
steer clear of anything like obstinacy. In the first place, 
the ocean has coasts, but no banks, except the Grand 
Banks, as I tell you, which are out of sight of land ; and 
you will not pretend that this bank is out of sight of land, 
or even under water! ” 

As Mabel could not very plausibly set up this extrava- 
gant opinion, Cap pursued the subject, his countenance 
beginning to discover the triumph of a successful disputant. 

“ And then them trees bear no comparison to these trees. 
The coasts of the ocean have farms, and cities, and coun- 
try seats, and, in some parts of the world, castles and 
monasteries and lighthouses — ay, ay, lighthouses, in par- 
ticular, on them; not one of all which things is to be seen 
ere. No — no — Master Pathfinder, I never heard of an 
ocean that hadn’t more or less lighthouses on it, whereas, 
here-away, there is not even a beacon.” 

“ There is what is better — there’s what is better; a for- 
est and noble trees, a fit temple of God.” 

“Ay, your forest may do for a lake, but of what use 
would an ocean be, if the earth all around it were forest ? ” 
Ships would be unnecessary, as timber might be floated in 
rafts, and there would be an end of trade, and what would 
a world be without trade? I am of that philosopher’s 
opinion who says human nature was invented for the pur- 
poses of trade. Magnet, I am astonished that you should 
think this water even looks like sea-water. Now, I dare 
say that there isn’t such a thing as a whale in all your 
lake, Master Pathfinder! ” 

“ I never heard of one, I will confess, but I am no judge 
of animals that live in the water, unless it be the fishes of 
the rivers and brooks.” 

“ Nor a grampus, nor a porpoise even; not so much as 
a poor devil of a shark ? ” 


Ii6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ I will not take it on myself to say there is either. My 
gifts are not in that way, I tell you, Master Cap.’* 

“ Nor herring, nor albatross, nor flying fish ” — continued 
Cap, who kept his eye fastened on the guide, in order to 
see how far he might venture. “ No such thing as a fish 
that can fly, I dare say ? ” 

“A fish that can fly! Master Cap — Master Cap, do not 
think because we are mere borderers that we have no 
idees of natur’, and what she has been pleased to do. I 
know there are squirrels that can fly ” 

“ A squirrel fly ? — the devil, Master Pathfinder! Do you 
suppose that you have got a boy on his first v’y’ge, up 
here among you ? ” 

“ I know nothing of your v’y’ges, Master Cap, though 
I suppose them to have been many; but, as for what be- 
longs to natur’ in the woods, what I have seen I may tell, 
and not fear the face of man.” 

“ And do you wish me to understand that you have seen 
a squirrel fly ? ” 

“ Do you wish to understand the power of God, Master 
Cap ? You will do well to believe that, and many other 
things of a like natur’, for you may be quite sartain it is 
true.” 

“And yet, Pathfinder,” said Mabel, looking so pretty 
and sweet, even while she played with the guide’s infirmity, 
that he forgave her in his heart — “ you, who speak so rev- 
erently of the power of the Deity, appear to doubt that a 
fish can fly! ” 

“I have not said it— I have not said it: and if Master 
Cap is ready to testify to the fact, unlikely as it seems, I 
am willing to try to think it true. I think it every man’s 
duty to believe in the power of God, however difficult it 
may be.” 

“ And why isn’t my fish as likely to have wings as your 
squirrel ? ” demanded Cap, with more logic than was in 
his wont. “ That fishes do and can fly is as true as it is 
reasonable ” 

“ Nay, that is the only difficulty in believing the story,” 
rejoined the guide. “ It seems onreasonable to give aa 
animal that lives in the water wings, which seemingly can 
be of no use to them.” 

“ And do you suppose that the fishes are such asses as 


THE PATHFINDER. 117 

to fly about under water, when they are only fairly fitted 
out with wings ? ” 

“ Nay, I know nothing of the matter, but that fish should 
fly in the air seems more contrary to natur’ still, than that 
they should fly in their own quarters — that in which they 
were born and brought up, as one might say.” 

“ So much for contracted ideas, Magnet. The fish fly 
out of water to run away from their enemies in the water; 
and there you see not only the fact, but the reason of it.” 

“ Then I suppose it must be true, ” said the guide, quietly. 
“ How long are their flights ? ” 

“ Not quite as far as those of pigeons, perhaps, but far 
enough to make an offing. As for those squirrels of yours, 
we’ll say no more about them, friend Pathfinder ; I suppose 
they were mentioned just as a make-weight of the fish, in 
favor of the woods. But what is this thing, anchored here 
under the hill ? ” 

“That is the cutter of Jasper, uncle,” said Mabel, hur- 
riedly — “ and a very pretty vessel I think it is. It’s name, 
too, is the Scud.” 

“Ay, it will do well enough for a lake, perhaps, but it’s 
no great affair. The lad has got a standing bowsprit, and 
who ever saw a cutter with a standing bowsprit before ? ” 

“ But may there not be some good reason for it on a 
lake like this, uncle ? ” 

“ Sure enough — I must remember this is not the ocean, 
though it does look so much like it.” 

“ Ah ! uncle, then Ontario does look like the ocean, after 
all?” 

“ In your eyes, I mean, and those of Pathfinder; not in 
the least in mine, Magnet. Now you might set me down 
out yonder, in the middle of this bit of a pond, and that too 
in the darkest night that ever fell from the heavens, and 
in the smallest canoe, and I could tell you it was only a 
lake. For that matter the Dorothy” (the name of his 
vessel) “ would find it out as quick as I could myself. I 
do not believe that brig would make more than a couple 
of short stretches at the most, before she would perceive 
the difference between Ontario and the old Atlantic. I 
once took her down into one of the larger South American 
bays, and she behaved herself as awkwardly as a body 
would in a church, with the congregation in a hurry. And 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Il8 

Jasper sails that boat ! I must have a cruise with the lad, 
Magnet, before I quit you, just for the name of the thing. 
It would never do to say I got in sight of this pond, and 
went away without taking a trip on it.” 

“Well, well, you need not wait long for that,” returned 
Pathfinder; “for the sergeant is about to depart with a 
party to relieve a post among the Thousand Islands; and 
as I heard him say he intended that Mabel should go 
along, you can join company, too." 

“ Is this true, Magnet ? ” 

“I believe it is,” returned the girl, a flush, so imper 
ceptible as to escape the observation of her companions, 
glowing on her cheeks, “ though I have had so little op- 
portunity to talk with my dear father that I am not quite 
certain. Here he comes, however, and you can inquire of 
himself.” 

Notwithstanding his humble rank, there was something 
in the mien and character of Sergeant Dunham that com- 
manded respect. Of a tall, imposing figure, grave and 
saturnine disposition, and accurate and precise in his acts 
and manner of thinking, even Cap, dogmatical and super- 
cilious as he usually was with landsmen, did not presume 
to take the same liberties with the old soldier as he did 
with his other friends. It was often remarked that Ser- 
geant Dunham received more true respect from Duncan of 
Lundie, the Scotch laird who commanded the post, than 
most of the subalterns; for experience and tried services 
were of quite as much value in the eyes of a veteran major 
as birth and money. While the sergeant never even hoped 
to rise any higher, he so far respected himself and his 
present station as always to act in a way to command at- 
tention; and the habit of mixing so much with inferiors, 
whose passions and disposition he felt it necessary to re- 
strain by distance and dignity, had so far colored his whole 
deportment that few were altogether free from its influ- 
ence. While the captains treated him kindly and as an 
old comrade, the lieutenants seldom ventured to dissent 
from his military opinions; and the ensigns, it was re- 
marked, actually manifested a species of respect that 
amounted to something very like deference. It is no won- 
der, then, that the announcement of Mabel put a sudden 
termination to the singular dialogue we have just related, 


THE PATHFINDER. 


ll§ 


thougu it had been often observed that the Pathfinder was 
the only man on that frontier, beneath the condition of a 
gentleman who presumed to treat the sergeant at all as an 
equal, or even with the cordial familiarity of a friend. 

“Good-morrow, brother Cap,” said the sergeant, giving 
the military salute, as he walked in a grave, stately man« 
ner on the bastion. “ My morning duty has made me seem 
forgetful of you and Mabel, but we have now an hour or 
two to spare, and to get acquainted. Do you not perceive, 
brother, a strong likeness in the girl to her we have so 
long lost ? ” 

“ Mabel is the image of her mother, sergeant, as I have 
always said, with a little of your firmer figure; though for 
that matter the Caps were never wanting in spring and 
activity.” 

Mabel cast a timid glance at the stern, rigid countenance 
of her father, of whom she had ever thought as the warm- 
hearted dwell on the affection of their absent parents, and 
as she saw that the muscles of his face were working, not® 
withstanding the stiffness and method of his manner, her 
very heart yearned to throw herself on his bosom, and to 
weep at will. But he was so much colder in externals, so 
much more formal and distant than she had expected to 
find him, that she would not have dared to hazard the 
freedom, even had they been alone. 

“You have taken a long and troublesome journey, 
brother, on my account, and we will try to make you com- 
fortable while you stay among us.” 

“ I hear you are likely to receive orders to lift your an- 
chor, sergeant, and to shift your berth into a part of the 
world where they say there are a thousand islands ? ” 

“ Pathfinder, this is some of your forgetfulness- ” 

“Nay, nay, sergeant; I forgot nothing, but it did not 
seem to me necessary to hide your intentions so very 
closely from your own flesh and blood.” 

“ All military movements ought to be made with as little 
conversation as possible,” returned the sergeant, tapping 
the guide’s shoulder in a friendly but reproachful manner. 
“You have passed too much of your life in iront of the 
French not to know the value of silence. But, no matter; 
the thing must soon be known, and there is no great use 
in trying now to conceal it. We shall embark a relief 


120 


THE PATHFINDER. 


party shortly for a post on the lake, though I do not say 
it is for the Thousand Islands, and I may have to go with 
it; in which case I intend to take Mabel to make my broth 
for me; and I hope, brother, you will not despise a sol- 
dier’s fare for a month or so.” 

“ That will depend on the manner of marching. I have 
no love for woods and swamps.” 

“We shall sail in the Scud; and, indeed, the whole ser- 
vice, which is no stranger to us, is likely enough to please 
one accustomed to the water. ” 

“Ay, to salt-water, if you will, but not to lake-water. 
If you have no person to handle that bit of a cutter for 
you, I have no objection to ship for the v’y’ge, notwith- 
standing, though I shall look on the whole affair as so 
much time thrown away; for I consider it an imposition 
to call sailing about this pond going to sea.” 

“Jasper is every way able to manage the Scud, brother 
Cap, and in that light I cannot say that we have need of 
your services, though we shall be glad of your company. 
You cannot return to the settlements until a party is sent 
in, and that is not likely to happen until after my return. 
Well, Pathfinder, this is the first time I ever knew men on 
the trail of the Mingoes, and you not at their head.” 

“To be honest with you, sergeant,” returned the guide, 
not without a little awkwardness of manner and a per- 
ceptible difference in the hue of a face that had become 
so uniformly red by exposure, “ I have not felt that it was 
my gift, this morning. In the first place, I very well 
know that the soldiers of the 55th are not the lads to over- 
take Iroquois in the woods, and the knaves did not wait 
to be surrounded, when they knew that Jasper had reached 
the garrison. Then, a man may take a little rest, after a 
summer of hard work, and no impeachment of his good- 
will. Besides, the Sarpent is out with them, and if the 
miscreants are to be found at all, you may trust to his 
enmity and sight; the first being stronger, and the last 
nearly, if not quite, as good as my own. He loves the 
skulking vagabonds as little as myself ; and for that mat- 
ter, I may say that my own feelin’s toward a Mingo are 
not much more than the gifts of a Delaware grafted on a 
Christian stock. No — no — I thought I would leave the 
lionor, this time, if honor there is to be, to the voung en- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


12 1 


sign thac commands, who, if he don’t lose his scalp, may 
boast of his campaign in his letters to his motner, when 
he gets in. I thought I would play idler once in my life. ^ 

“ And no one has a better right, if long and faithful 
service entitles a man to a furlough,” returned the ser- 
geant, kindly. “ Mabel will think none the worse of you 
for preferring her company to the trail of the savages: 
and, I dare say, will be happy to give you a part of her 
breakfast if you are inclined to eat. You must not think, 
girl, however, that the Pathfinder is in the habit of letting 
prowlers around the fort beat a retreat without hearing 
the crack of his rifle.” 

“ If I thought she did, sergeant, though not much given 
toishowy and parade evolutions, I would shoulder Kill-deer 
and quit the garrison before her pretty eyes had time to 
frown. No — no — Mabel knows me better, though we are 
but new acquaintances, for there has been no want of Min- 
goes to enliven the short march we have already made in 
company.” 

“ It would need a great deal of testimony, Pathfinder, to 
make me think ill of you in any way, and more than all in 
the way you mention,” returned Mabel, coloring with the 
sincere earnestness with which she endeavored to remove 
any suspicion to the contrary from his mind. “ Both father 
and daughter, I believe, owe you their lives, and believe 
me that neither will ever forget it.” 

“ Thank you, Mabel, thank you with all my heart. But 
I will not take advantage of your ignorance neither, girl, 
and therefore shall say I do not think the Mingoes would 
have hurt a hair of your head, had they succeeded by their 
devilties and contrivances in getting you into their hands. 
My scalp, and Jasper’s, and Master Cap’s there, and the 
Sarpent’s, too, would sartainly havo been smoked; but as 
for the sergeant’s daughter, I do not think they would 
have hurt a hair of her head! ” 

“ And why should I suppose that enemies known to spare 
neither women nor children would have shown more mercy 
to me than to another ? I feel, Pathfinder, that I owe you 
my life.” 

“I say nay, Mabel; they wouldn’t have had the heart 
to hurt you. No, not even a fiery Mingo devil would have 
had the heart to hurt hair of your head! Bad as I suspect 


122 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the vampires to be, I do not suspect them of anything so 
wicked as that. They might have wished you — nay, forced 
you to become the wife of one of their chiefs, and that 
would be torment enough to a Christian young woman; 
but beyond that I do not think even the Mingoes them- 
selves would have gone.” 

“ Well, then, I shall owe my escape from this great mis- 
fortune to you,” said Mabel, taking his hand into her own, 
frankly and cordially, and certainly in a way to delight 
the honest guide. “To me it would be a lighter evil to 
be killed than to become the wife of an Indian.” 

“ That is her gift, sergeant,” exclaimed Pathfinder, turn- 
ing to his old comrade, with gratification written on every 
lineament of his honest countenance, “ and it will have its 
way. I tell the Sarpent that no Christianizing will ever 
make even a Delaware a white man ; nor any whooping 
and yelling convart a pale-face into a red-skin. That is 
the gift of a young woman born of Christian parents, and it 
ought to be maintained.” 

“You are right, Pathfinder; and so far as Mabel Dun- 
ham is concerned, it shall be maintained. But it is time 
to break your fast, and, if you will follow me, brother 
Cap, I will show you how we poor soldiers live, here on a 
distant frontier.” 


CHAPTER IX. 

** Now, my co-mates and partners in exile, 

Hath not old custom made this life more sweet 
Than that of painted pomp ? Are not these woods 
More free from peril than the curious court ? 

Here feel we but the penalty of Adam." — As You Like IT. 

Sergeant Dunham made no empty vaunt when he gave 
the promise conveyed in the closing words of the last 
chapter. Notwithstanding the remote frontier position of 
the post, they who lived at it enjoyed a table that, in 
many respects, kings and princes might have envied. At 
the period of our tale, and indeed for half a century later, 
the whole of that vast region which has been called the 
West, or the new countries, since the war of the Revolu- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


X2$ 

tion, lay a comparatively unpeopled desert, teeming with 
all the living productions of nature that properly belonged 
to the climate, man and the domestic animals excepted. 
The few Indians that roamed its forests then could produce 
no visible effects on the abundance of the game ; and the 
scattered garrisons, or occasional hunters that here and 
there were to be met with on that vast surface, had no 
other influence than the bee on the buckwheat field or the 
humming-bird on the flower. 

The marvels that have descended to our own times, in 
the way of tradition, concerning the qualities of beasts, 
birds, and fishes that were then to be met with, on the 
shores of the great lakes in particular, are known to be 
sustained by the experience of living men, else we might 
hesitate about relating them; but, having been eye-wit- 
nesses of some of those prodigies, our office shall be dis- 
charged with the confidence that certainty can impart. 
Oswego was particularly well pleased to keep the larder of 
an epicure amply supplied. Fish of various sorts abounded 
in its river, and the sportsman had only to cast his line to 
haul in a bass or some other member of the finny tribe, 
which then peopled the waters as the air above the swamps 
of this fruitful latitude is known to be filled with insects. 
Among others was the salmon of the lakes, a variety of 
that well-known species that is scarcely inferior to the de- 
licious salmon of northern Europe. Of the different mi- 
gratory birds that frequent forests and waters, there was 
the same affluence, hundreds of acres of geese and ducks 
being often seen at a time in the great bays that indent 
the shores of the lake. Deer, bears, rabbits, and squirrels, 
with divers other quadrupeds, among which was sometimes 
included the elk or moose, helped to complete the sum of 
the natural supplies on which all the posts depended, more 
or less, to relieve the unavoidable privations of their re- 
mote frontier positions. 

In a place where viands that would elsewhere be deemed 
great luxuries were so abundant, no one was excluded 
from their enjoyment. The meanest individual at Oswego 
habitually feasted on game that would have formed the 
boasts of a Parisian table ; and it was no more than a health- 
ful commentary on the caprices of taste and of tne way- 
wardness of human desires, that the very diet, which in 


THE PATHFINDER. 


224 

other scenes would have been deemed the subject of envy 
and repmings, got to pall on the appetite. The coarse and 
regular food of the army, which it became necessary to 
husband on account of the difficulty of transportation, rose 
in the estimation of the common soldier, and at any time 
he would cheerfully desert his venison, and ducks, and 
pigeons, and salmon, to banquet on the sweets of pickled 
pork, stringy turnips, and half-cooked cabbage. 

The table of Sergeant Dunham, as a matter of course, 
partook of the abundance and luxuries of the frontier as 
well as of its privations. A delicious broiled salmon 
smoked on a homely platter, hot venison steaks sent up 
their appetizing odors, and several dishes of cold meats, 
all of which were composed of game, had been set before 
the guests in honor of the newly arrived visitors, and in 
vindication of the old soldier’s hospitality. 

“ You do not seem to be on short allowance in this quar- 
ter of the world, sergeant,” said Cap, after he had got 
fairly initiated into the mysteries of the different dishes; 
“your salmon might satisfy a Scotsman.” 

“ It fails to do it, notwithstanding, brother Cap ; for, 
among two or three hundred of the fellows that we have 
in this garrison, there are not half a dozen who will not 
swear that the fish is unfit to be eaten. Even some of 
the lads, who never tasted venison except as poachers at 
home, turn up their noses at the fattest haunches that we 
get here.” 

“Ay, that is Christian natur’,” put in Pathfinder, “and 
I must say it is none to its credit. Now, a red-skin never 
repines, but is always thankful for the food he gets, whether 
it be fat or lean, venison or bear, wild-turkey’s breast or 
wild-goose’s wing. To the shame of us white men be it 
said that we look upon blessings without satisfaction, and 
consider trifling evils matters of great account.” 

“ It is so with the 55th, as I can answer, though I cannot 
say as much for their Christianity,” returned the sergeant. 
“ Even the major himself, old Duncan of Lundie, will some- 
times swear an oatmeal-cake is better fare than the Oswego 
bass, and sigh for a swallow of Highland water, when, if 
so minded, he has the whole of Ontario to quench his 
thirst in.” 

“ Has Major Duncan a wife and children ? ” asked Ma« 


THE PATHFINDER. 1 25 

bel, whose thoughts naturally turned toward her own sex 
in her new situation. 

“Not he, girl; though they do say that he has a be- 
trothed at home. The lady, it seems, is willing to wait 
rather than suffer the hardships of service in this wild re- 
gion — all of which, brother Cap, is not according to my 
notions of a woman’s duties. Your sister thought differ- 
ently, and, had it pleased God to spare her, would have 
been sitting at this moment on the very camp-stool that 
her daughter so well becomes.” 

“ I hope, sergeant, you do not think of Mabel for a sol- 
dier’s wife,” returned Cap, gravely. “ Our family has done 
its share in that way already, and it’s high time the sea 
was again remembered.” 

“ I do not think of finding a husband for the girl in the 
55th or any other regiment, I can promise you, brother; 
though I do think it getting to be time that the child were 
respectably married.” 

“ Father!” 

“ ’Tis not their gifts, sergeant, to talk of these matters 
in so open a manner,” said the guide, “for I’ve seen it 
verified by exper’ence that he who would follow the trail 
of a virgin’s good-will must not go shouting out his thoughts 
behind her. So, if you please, we will talk of something 
else.” 

“Well, then, brother Cap, I hope that bit of a cold 
roasted pig is to your mind; you seem to fancy the food.” 

“Ay, ay, give me civilized grub, if I must eat,” returned 
the pertinacious seaman. “Venison is well enough for 
your inland sailors, but we of the ocean like a little of that 
which we understand.” 

Here Pathfinder laid down his knife and fork, and in- 
dulged in a hearty laugh, though always in his silent man- 
ner; then he asked, with a little curiosity in his manner: 

“ Don’t you miss the skin, Master Cap? don’t you miss 
the skin ? ” 

“ It would have been better for its jacket, I think my- 
self, Pathfinder; but I suppose it is a fashion of the woods 
to serve up shoats in this style.” 

“Well, well, a man may go round the ’arth and not 
know everything! If you had had the skinning of that 
pig, Master Cap, it would have left you sore hands. The 
creatin' is a nedgehog! ” 


126 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Blast me if I thought it wholesome natural pork, 
either! ” returned Cap. “But then I believed even a pig 
might lose some of its good qualities up hereaway, in the 
woods. It seemed no more than reason that a fresh-water 
hog should not be altogether so good as a salt-water hog. 
I suppose, sergeant, by this time it is all the same to you ? ” 

“ If the skinning of it, brother, does not fall to my duty. 
Pathfinder, I hope you didn’t find Mabel disobedient on 
the march ? ” 

“ Not she — not she. If Mabel is only half as well sat- 
isfied with Jasper and the Pathfinder, as the Pathfinder 
and Jasper are satisfied with her, sergeant, we shall be 
friends for the remainder of our days.” 

As the guide spoke, he turned his eyes toward the blush- 
ing girl, with a sort of innocent desire to know her opin- 
ion ; and then, with an inborn delicacy that proved he was 
far superior to the vulgar desire to invade the sanctity of 
feminine feeling, he looked at his plate, and seemed to re- 
gret his own boldness. 

“Well, well, we must remember that women are not 
men, my friend,” resumed the sergeant, “ and make proper 
allowances for nature and education. A recruit is not a 
veteran. Any man knows that it takes longer to make a 
good soldier than it takes to make anything else; and it 
ought to require unusual time to make a good soldier’s 
daughter.” 

“This is new doctrine, sergeant,” said Cap, with some 
spirit. “We old seamen are apt to think that six soldiers, 
ay, and capital soldiers too, might be made, while one 
sailor is getting his education.” 

“Ay, brother Cap, I’ve seen something of the opinions 
which seafaring men have of themselves,” returned the 
brother-in-law, with a smile as bland as comported with his 
saturnine features; “ for I was many years one of the garri- 
son in a seaport. You and I have conversed on the sub- 
ject before, and I’m afraid we shall never agree. But if 
you wish to know what the difference is between a real 
soldier and man in what I should call a state of nature, 
you have only to look at a battalion of the 55 th, on parade 
this afternoon, and then, when you get back to York, ex- 
amine one of the militia regiments making its greatest 
efforts,” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


127 


“ Well, to my eye, sergeant, there is very little difference 
< — not more than you’ll find between a brig and a scow. 
To me they seem alike; all scarlet, and feathers, and 
powder, and pipe-clay. ” 

“So much, sir, for the judgment of a sailor,” returned 
the sergeant, with dignity ; 44 but perhaps you are not aware 
that it requires a year to teach a true soldier how to eat.” 

44 So much the worse for him! The militia know how 
to eat at starting; for I have often heard that, on their 
inarches, they commonly eat all before them, even if they 
do nothing else.” 

44 They have their gifts, I suppose, like other men/' ob- 
served Pathfinder, with a view to preserve the peace, which 
was evidently in some danger of being broken by the ob- 
stinate predilection of each of the disputants in favor of 
his own calling; 44 and when a man has his gift from Provi- 
dence, it is commonly idle to endeavor to bear up agin* 
it. The 55th, sergeant, is a judicious rijiment, in the way 
of eating, as I know from having been so long in its com- 
pany, though I dare say militia corps could be found that 
would outdo them in feats of that natur’, too.’ 5 

“Uncle,” said Mabel, 44 if you have breakfasted, I will 
thank you to go out upon the bastion with me again. We 
have neither of us seen the lake, and it would be hardly 
seemly for a young woman to be walking about the fort, 
the first day of her arrival, quite alone.” 

Cap understood the motive of Mabel, and having at the 
bottom a hearty friendship for his brother-in-law, he was 
willing enough to defer the argument until they had been 
longer together, for the idea of abandoning it altogether 
never crossed the mind of one so dogmatical and obstinate. 
He accordingly accompanied his niece, leaving Sergeant 
Dunham and his friend the Pathfinder alone together. As 
soon as his adversary had beaten a retreat, the sergeant, 
who did not quite so well understand the manoeuvre of his 
daughter, turned to his companion, and, with a smile that 
was not without triumph, he remarked : 

44 The army, Pathfinder, has never yet done itself jus- 
tice; and though modesty becomes a man whether he is 
in a red coat or a black one, or, for that matter, in his 
shirt-sleeves, I don’t like to let a good opportunity slip of 
saying a word in its behalf. Well, my friend,” laying his 


£28 


THE PATHFINDER 


own hand on one of the Pathfinder’s, and giving it a hearty 
squeeze, “ how do you like the girl ? ” 

“You have reason to be proud of her, sergeant; you 
have reason to be proud at finding yourself the father of 
so handsome and well-mannered a young woman. I have 
seen many of her sex, and some that were great and beau- 
tiful, but never before did I meet with one in whom I 
thought Providence had so well balanced the different 
gifts.” 

“ And the good opinion, I can tell you, Pathfinder, is 
mutual. She told me last night all about your coolness 
and spirit and kindness — particularly the last, for kind- 
ness counts for more than half with females, my friend; 
and the first inspection seems to give satisfaction on both 
sides. Brush up the uniform, and pay a little more atten- 
tion to the outside, Pathfinder, and you will have the girl, 
heart and hand.” 

“ Nay, nay, sergeant, I’ve forgotten nothing that you 
have told me, and grudge no reasonable pains to make 
myself as pleasant in the eyes of Mabel as she is getting 
to be in mine. I cleaned and brightened up Kill-deer this 
morning as soon as the sun rose; and, in my judgment, 
the piece never looked better than it does at this very mo- 
ment ! ” 

“ That is according to your hunting notions, Pathfinder; 
but firearms should sparkle and glitter in the sun, and I 
never yet could see any beauty in a clouded barrel.” 

“Lord Howe thought otherwise, sergeant; and he was 
accounted a good soldier! ” 

“ Very true — his lordship had all the barrels of his regi- 
ment darkened, and what good came of it ? You can see 
his ’scutcheon hanging in the English church at Albany! 
No, no, my worthy friend, a soldier should be a soldier, 
and at no time ought he to be ashamed or afraid to carry 
about him the signs and symbols of his honorable trade. 
Had you much discourse with Mabel, Pathfinder, as you 
came along in the canoe ? ” 

“ There was not much opportunity, sergeant, and then 
I found myself so much beneath her in ideas that I was 
afraid to speak of much beyond what belonged to my own 
gifts.” 

“Therein you are partly right and partly wrong, my 


THE PATHFINDER. 


I29 


friend. Women love trifling discourse, though they like 
to have most of it to themselves. Now, you know, I’m a 
man that do not loosen my tongue at every giddy thought, 
and yet there were days when I could see that Mabel’s 
mother thought none the worse of me because I descended 
a little from my manhood. It is true I was twenty-two 
years younger then than I am to-day; and, moreover, in- 
stead of being the oldest sergeant in the regiment, I was 
the youngest. Dignity is commanding and useful, and 
there is no getting on without it, as respects the men ; but, 
if you would be thoroughly esteemed by a woman, it is 
necessary to condescend a little on occasions.” 

“ Ah’s me ! sergeant ; I sometimes fear it will never do ! ” 

“ Why do you think so discouragingly of a matter on 
which I thought both our minds were made up ? ” 

“ We did agree that if Mabel should prove what you told 
me she was, if the girl could fancy a rude hunter and guide, 
I would quit some of my wandering ways, and try to 
humanize my mind down to a wife and children. But, 
since I have seen the girl, I will own that many misgivin’s 
have come over me! ” 

“ How’s this? ” interrupted the sergeant, sternly. “ Did 
I not understand you to say that you were pleased ? And 
is Mabel a young woman to disappoint expectation ? ” 

“ Ah ! sergeant, it is not Mabel that I distrust, but my- 
self. I am a poor, ignorant woodsman, after all, and per- 
haps I’m not, in truth, as good as even you and 1 may 
think me.” 

“ If you doubt your own judgment cf yourself, Path- 
finder, I beg you will not doubt mine. Am I not accus- 
tomed to judge men’s characters ? Is it not my especial 
duty, and am I often deceived ? Ask Major Duncan, sir, 
if you desire any assurances in this particular.” 

“But, sergeant, we have long been fri’nds, have fou't 
side by side a dozen times, and have done each other many 
sarvices. When this is the case men are apt to think over- 
kindly of each other, and I fear me that the daughter may 
not be so likely to view a plain, ignorant hunter as favor- 
ably as the father does.” 

“Tut, tut, Pathfinder; you don’t know yourself, man, 
and may put all faith in my judgment. In the first place, 
you have experience, and. as all girls must want that, m 


THE PATHFINDER. 


* 3 ° 

prudent young woman would overlook such a qualification. 
Then you are not one of the coxcombs that strut about 
when they first join a regiment, but a man who has seen 
service, and who carries the mark of it on his person and 
countenance. I dare say you have been under fire some 
thirty or forty times, counting all the skirmishes and am* 
bushes that you’ve seen.” 

“ All of that, sergeant, all of that; but what will it avail 
in gaining the good-will of a tender-hearted female ? ” 

“ It will gain the day. Experience in the field is as good 
in love as in war. But you are as honest-hearted and as 
loyal a subject as the king can boast of — God bless him! ” 
“That maybe too — that maybe too: but I’m afeard 
I’m too rude, and too old, and too wild-like to suit the 
fancy of such a young and delicate girl as Mabel, who has 
been unused to our wilderness-ways, and may think the 
settlements better suited to her gifts and inclinations.” 

“ These are new misgivings for you, my friend, and I 
wonder they were never paraded before.” 

“ Because I never knew my own worthlessness, perhaps, 
until I saw Mabel. I have travelled with some as fair, 
and have guided them through the forest, and seen them 
in their perils and in their gladness; but they were always 
too much above me to make me think of them as more 
than so many feeble ones I was bound to protect and de- 
fend. The case is now different. Mabel and I are so 
nearly alike that I feel weighed down* with a load that is 
hard to bear at finding us so unlike. I do wish, sergeant, 
that I was ten years younger, more comely to look at, and 
better suited to please a handsome young woman’s fancy ! ” 
“ Cheer up, my brave friend, and trust to a father’s 
knowledge of womankind. Mabel half loves you already, 
and a fortnight’s intercourse and kindness, down among 
the islands yonder, will close ranks with the other half. 
The girl as much as told me this herself last night.” 

“ Can this be so, sergeant ? ” said the guide, whose meek 
and modest nature shrank from viewing himself in colors 
so favorable. “ Can this be truly so ? I am but a poor 
hunter, and Mabel, I see, is fit to be an officer’s lady. 
Do you think the gal will consent to quit all her beloved 
settlement usages, and her visitin’s,and her church-goin’s, 
to dwell with a plain guide and hunter, up hereaway, in 


THE PATHFINDER. 131 

the woods ? Will she not, in the end, crave her old ways 
and a better man ? ” 

“ A better man, Pathfinder, would be hard to find,” re- 
turned the father. “As for town usages, they are soon 
forgotten in the freedom of the forest, and Mabel has just 
spirit enough to dwell on a frontier. I’ve not planned 
this marriage, my friend, without thinking it over, as a 
general does his campaign. At first, I thought of bring- 
ing you into the regiment, that you might succeed me 
when I retired, which must be sooner or later; but on re- 
flection, Pathfinder, I think you are scarcely fitted for the 
office. Still, if not a soldier in all the meanings of the 
word, you are a soldier in its best meaning, and I know 
that you have the good-will of every officer in the corps. 
As long as I live, Mabel can dwell with me, and you will 
always have a home when you return from your scoutings 
and marches.” 

“ This is very pleasant to think of, sergeant, if the girl 
can only come into our wishes with good-will. But, ah’s 
me! it ‘does not seem that one like myself can ever be 
agreeable in her handsome eyes! If I were younger, and 
comely, now, as Jasper Western is, for instance, there 
might be a chance — yes, then, indeed, there might be some 
chance.” 

“ That for Jasper Eau-douce and every younker of them 
in or about the fort! ” returned the sergeant, snapping his 
fingers. “ If not actually younger, you are a younger- 
looking, ay, and a better-looking man than the Scud' s 
master ” 

“ Anan! ” said Pathfinder, looking up at his companion 
with an expression of doubt, as if he did not understand 
his meaning. 

“ I say, if not actually younger in days and years, you 
look more hardy and like whip-cord than Jasper or any 
of them ; and there will be more of you thirty years hence 
than of all of them put together. A good conscience will 
keep one like you a mere boy all his life.” 

“ Jasper has as clear a conscience as any youth I know, 
sergeant, and is as likely to wear, on that account, as any 
young man in the colony.” 

“Then, you are my friend,” squeezing the other’s hand 
— “my tried, sworn, and constant friend. ” 


132 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Yes, we have been friends, sergeant, near twenty years 
—before Mabel was born/’ 

“ True enough — before Mabel was born we were well- 
tried friends; and the hussy would never dream of refusing 
to marry a man who was her father’s friend before she 
was born.” 

1 u We don’t know, sergeant, we don’t know. Like loves 
like. The young prefar the young for companions, and 
the old the old.” 

“ Not for wives, Pathfinder! I never knew an old man, 
now, who had an objection to a young wife. Then, you 
are respected and esteemed by every officer in the fort, as 
I have said already, and it will please her fancy to like a 
man that every one else likes.” 

“I hope I have no inemies but the Mingoes,” returned 
the guide, stroking down his hair meekly, and speaking 
thoughtfully. %i I’ve tried to do right, and that ought to 
make friends, though it sometimes fails.” 

“And you may be said to keep the best company, for 
even old Duncan of Lundie is glad to see you, and you 
pass hours in his society. Of all the guides, he confides 
most in you.” 

“ Ay, even greater than he is have marched by my side 
for days, and have conversed with me as if I were their 
brother; but, sergeant, I have never been puffed up by 
their company, for I know that the woods often bring men 
to a level who would not be so in the settlements. ” 

“ And you are known to be the greatest rifle-shot that 
ever pulled a trigger in all this region.” 

“ If Mabel could fancy a man for that, I might have no 
great reason to despair; and yet, sergeant, I sometimes 
think that it is all as much owing to Kill-deer as to any skill 
of my own. It is sartainly a wonderful piece, and might 
do as much in the hands of another.” 

“ That is your humble opinion of yourself, Pathfinder; 
but we have seen too many fall with the same weapon, 
and you succeed too often with the rifles of other men to 
agree with you. We will get up a shooting-match in a 
day or two, when you can show your skill, and then Mabel 
will form some judgment concerning your true char- 
acter.” 

“Will that be fair, sergeant? Everybody knows that 


THE PATHFINDER. 


*33 


Kill-deer seldom misses, and ought we make a trial of this 
sort wnen we all know what must be the result ? * 

“Tut, tut, man! I foresee I must do half this courting 
for you. For one who is always inside of the smoke in a 
skirmish you are the faintest-hearted suitor I ever met 
with. Remember, Mabel comes of bold stock ; and the 
girl will be as likely to admire a man as her mother was 
before her.” 

Here the sergeant arose, and proceeded to attend to his 
never-ceasing duties without apology, the terms on which 
the guide stood with all in the garrison rendering this free- 
dom quite a matter of course. 

The reader will have gathered from the conversation 
just related one of the plans that Sergeant Dunham had 
in view in causing his daughter to be brought to the fron- 
tier. Although necessarily much weaned from the caresses 
and blandishments that had rendered his child so dear to 
him during the first year or two of his widowhood, he had 
still a strong, but somewhat latent, love for her. Accus- 
tomed to command and to obey, without being questioned 
himself or questioning others concerning the reasonable- 
ness of the mandates, he was, perhaps, too much disposed 
to believe that his daughter would marry the man he might 
select, while he was far from being disposed to do violence 
to her wishes. The fact was, few knew the Pathfinder 
intimately without secretly coming to believe him to be 
one of extraordinary qualities. Ever the same, simple- 
minded, faithful, utterly without fear, and yet prudent, 
foremost in all warrantable enterprises, or what the opinion 
of the day considered as such, and never engaged in any- 
thing to call a blush to his cheek or censure on his acts, 
it was not possible to live much with this being, who, in 
his peculiar way, was a sort of type of what Adam might 
have been supposed to be before the fall, though certainly 
not without sin, and not feel a respect and admiration for 
him that had no reference to his position in life. It was 
remarked that no officer passed him without saluting him 
as if he had been his equal ; no common man, without ad- 
dressing him with the confidence and freedom of a com- 
rade. The most surprising peculiarity about the man him- 
self was the entire indifference with which he regarded all 
distinctions that did not depend on personal merit. He 


134 


THE PATHFINDER. 


was respectful to his superiors from habit, but had often 
been known to correct their mistakes and to reprove their 
vices, with a fearlessness that proved how essentially he 
regarded the more material points, and with a natural dis- 
crimination that appeared to set education at defiance. 
In short, a disbeliever in the ability of man to distinguish 
between good and evil without the aid of instruction 
would have been staggered by the character of this extra- 
ordinary inhabitant of the frontier. His feelings appeared 
to possess the freshness and nature of the forest in which 
he passed so much of his time, and no casuist could have 
made clearer decisions in matters relating to right and 
wrong; yet he was not without his prejudices, which, though 
few, and colored by the character and usages of the indi- 
vidual, were deep-rooted, and had almost got to form a 
part of his nature. But the most striking feature about 
the moral organization of Pathfinder was his beautiful and 
unerring sense of justice. This noble trait (and without 
it no man can be truly great; with it, no man other than 
respectable) probably had its unseen influence on all who 
associated with him; for the common and unprincipled 
brawler of the camp had been known to return from an 
expedition made in his company, rebuked by his senti- 
ments, softened by his language, and improved by his ex- 
ample. As might have been expected, with so elevated a 
quality, his fidelity was like the immovable rock. Treach- 
ery in him was classed among the things that are impossi- 
ble, and as he seldom retired before his enemies, so was 
he never known, under any circumstances that admitted 
of an alternative, to abandon a friend. The affinities of 
such a character were, as a matter of course, those of like 
for like. His associates and intimates, though more or 
less determined by chance, were generally of the highest 
order as to moral propensities; for he appeared to possess 
a species of instinctive discrimination that led him, insensi- 
bly to himself, most probably, to cling closest to those 
whose characters would best reward his friendship. In 
short, it was said of the Pathfinder, by one accustomed to 
study his fellows, that he was a fair example of what a 
just-minded and pure man might be, while untempted by 
unruly or ambitious desires, and left to follow the bias of 
his feelings, amid the solitary grandeur and ennobling in- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


135 


fluences ot a sublime nature; neither led aside by the in- 
ducements which infiuence all to do evil amid the incen- 
tives of civilization, nor forgetful of the Almighty Being 
whose spirit pervades the wilderness as well as the towns. 

Such was the man whom Sergeant Dunham had selected 
as the husband of Mabel. In making this choice he had 
not been as much governed by a clear and judicious view 
of the merits of the individual, perhaps, as by his own 
likings; still, no one knew the Pathfinder as intimately as 
himself, without always conceding to the honest guide a 
high place in his esteem, on account of these very virtues. 
That his daughter could find any serious objection to the 
match, the old soldier did not apprehend; while, on the 
other hand, he sa w many advantages to himself, in dim 
perspective, that were connected with the decline of his 
days, and an evening of life passing among descendants 
who were equally dear to him through both parents. He 
first made the proposition to his friend, who had listened 
to it kindly, but who the sergeant was now pleased to find 
already betrayed a willingness to come into his own views, 
that was proportioned to the doubts and misgivings pro- 
ceeding from his humble distrust of himself. 


CHAPTER X. 

“ Think not I love him, though I ask for him ; 
’Tis but a peevish boy — yet he talks well: 

But what care I for words ? ” 


A week passed in the usual routine of a garrison. Mabel 
was becoming used to a situation that at first she had found 
not only novel, but a little irksome; and the officers and 
men, in their turn, gradually familiarized to the presence 
of a young and blooming girl, whose attire and carriage 
had that air of modest gentility about them which she had 
obtained in the family of her patroness, annoyed her less 
by their ill-concealed admiration, while they gratified her 
by the respect which, she was fain to think, they paid her 
on account of her father; but which, in truth, w^ more 


136 


THE PATHFINDER. 


to be attributed to her own modest but spirited deport- 
ment than to any deference for the worthy sergeant. 

Acquaintances made in a forest, or in any circumstances 
of unusual excitement, soon attain their limits. Mabel 
found one week’s residence at Oswego sufficient to deter- 
mine her as to those with whom she might be intimate, and 
those whom she ought to avoid. The sort of neutral posi- 
tion occupied by her father, who was not an officer while 
he was so much more than a common soldier, by keeping 
her aloof from the two great classes of military life, lessened 
the number of those whom she was compelled to know, and 
made the duty of decision comparatively easy. Still she 
soon discovered that there were a few, even among those 
that could aspire to a seat at the commandant’s table, who 
were disposed to overlook the halbert, for the novelty of 
a well-turned figure and of a pretty, winning face; and 
by the end of the first two or three days she had admirers 
even among the gentlemen. The quartermaster, in par- 
ticular, a middle-aged soldier, who had more than once 
tried the blessings of matrimony, but was now a widower, 
was evidently disposed to increase his intimacy with the 
sergeant, though their duties often brought them together; 
and the youngsters among his messmates did not fail to note 
that this man of method, who was a Scotsman of the name 
of Muir, was much more frequent in his visits to the quar- 
ters of his subordinate than had formerly been his wont, 
A laugh or a joke in honor of the “ sergeant’s daughter,” 
however, limited their strictures, though “ Mabel Dun- 
ham ” was soon a toast that even the ensign or the lieu- 
tenant did not disdain to give. 

At the end of the week, Duncan of Lundie sent for Ser- 
geant Dunham after evening roll-call, on business of a nature 
that, it was understood, required a personal conference. 
The old veteran dwelt in a movable hut, which, being 
placed on trucks, he could order to be wheeled about at 
pleasure, sometimes living in one part of the area within 
the fort, and sometimes in another.* On the present oc- 
casion, he had made a halt near the centre, and there he 
was found by his subordinate, who was admitted to his 
presence without any delay, or dancing attendance in an 

* This circumstance is a real incident, taken from the “American 
Tady ” of Mrs, Grant, of Laggan. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


137 


ante-chamber. In point of fact, there was very little differ- 
ence in the quality of the accommodations given to the offi- 
cers and those allowed to the men, the former being merely 
granted the most room, and Mabel and her father were 
lodged nearly, if not quite, as well as the commandant of 
the place himself. 

“ Walk in, sergeant, walk in, my good friend,’' said old 
Lundie, heartily, as his inferior stood in a respectful atti- 
tude at the door of a sort of library and bedroom into 
which he had been ushered — “ walk in, and take a seat on 
that stool. I have sent for you, man, to discuss anything 
but rosters and pay-rolls this evening. It is now many 
years since we have been comrades, and ‘auld lang syne ’ 
should count for something, even between a major and his 
orderly, a Scot and a Yankee. Sit ye down, man, and 
just put yourself at your ease. It has been a fine day, 
sergeant?” 

“It has indeed, Major Duncan,” returned the other, 
who, though he complied so far as to take the seat, was 
much too practiced not to understand the degree of re- 
spect it was necessary to maintain in his manner — •“ a very 
fine day, sir, it has been, and we may look for more of 
them at this season.” 

“ I hope so, with all my heart. The crops look well as 
it is, man, and you’ll be finding that the 55th make almost 
as good farmers as soldiers. I never saw better potatoes 
in Scotland than we are likely to have in that new patch 
of ours.” 

“ They promise a good yield, Major Duncan, and in 
that light a more comfortable winter than the last.” 

“ Life is progressive, sergeant, in its comforts as well as 
in its need of them. We grow old, and I begin to think 
it time to retire and settle in life. I feel that my working 
days are nearly over.” 

“ The king, God bless him, sir, has much good service 
in your honor yet.” 

“ It may be so, Sergeant Dunham, especially if he should 
happen to have a spare lieutenant-colonelcy left.” 

“ The 55th will be honored the day that commission is 
given to Duncan of Lundie, sir.” 

“ And Duncan of Lundie will be honored the day he re- 
ceives it. But, sergeant, if you have never had a lieuten- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


* 3 8 

ant-colonelcy, you have had a good wife, and that is the 
next thing to rank, in making a man happy." 

“ I have been married, Major Duncan ; but it is now a long 
time since I have had no drawback on the love I bear his 
majesty and my duty." 

“What, man, not even the love you bear that active 
little round-limbed, rosy-cheeked daughter that I have 
seen in the fort these last few days ? Out upon you, ser- 
geant! old fellow as I am, I could almost love that little 
lassie myself, and send the lieutenant-colonelcy to the 
devil." 

“We all know where Major Duncan’s heart is, and that 
is in Scotland, where a beautiful lady is ready and willing 
to make him happy as soon as his own sense of duty shall 
permit." 

“Ay, hope is ever a far-off thing, sergeant," returned 
the superior, a shade of melancholy passing over his hard 
Scottish features as he spoke; “and bonny Scotland is a 
far-off country. Well, if we have no heather and oatmeal 
in this region, we have venison for the killing it, and sal- 
mon as plenty as at Berwick-upon-Tweed. Is it true, 
sergeant, that the men complain of having been over- 
venisoned and over-pigeoned of late ? " 

“ Not for some weeks, Major Duncan, for neither deer 
nor birds are so plenty at this season as they have been. 
They began to throw their remarks about concerning the 
salmon, but I trust we shall get through the summer with- 
out any serious disturbance on the score of food. The 
Scotch in the battalion do, indeed, talk more than is pru- 
dent of their want of oatmeal, grumbling occasionally of 
our wheaten bread." 

“Ah! that is human nature, sergeant; pure unadulter- 
ated Scottish human nature. A cake, man, to say the 
truth, is an agreeable morsel, and I often see the time 
when I pine for a bite myself.” 

“ If the feeling gets troublesome, Major Duncan — in the 
men I mean, sir, for I would not think of saying so dis- 
respectful a thing to your honor — but if the men ever pine 
seriously for their natural food, I would humbly recom- 
mend that some oatmeal be imported, or prepared in this 
country, for them, and I think we shall hear no more of it. 
A very little would answer for a cure, sir." 


THE PATHFINDER. 


*39 


“You are a wag, sergeant; but hang me if 1 am sure 
you are not right. There may be sweeter things in this 
world, after all, than oatmeal. You have a sweet daugh- 
ter, Dunham, for one." 

“ The girl is like her mother, Major Duncan, and will 
pass inspection,” said the sergeant, proudly. “Neither 
was brought up on anything better than good American 
flour. The girl will pass inspection, sir.” 

“That would she, I’ll answer for it. Well, I may as 
well come to the point at once, man, and bring up my re- 
serve into the front of the battle. Here is Davy Muir, the 
quartermaster, is disposed to make your daughter his wife, 
and he has just got me to open the matter to you, being 
fearful of compromising his own dignity — and I may as 
well add that half the youngsters in the fort toast her 
and talk of her from morning till night.” 

“She is much honored, sir,” returned the father, stiffly, 
“ but I trust the gentlemen will find something more worthy 
of them to talk about ere long. I hope to see her the 
wife of an honest man before many weeks, sir.” 

“Yes, Davy is an honest man, and that is more than 
can be said of all in the quartermaster’s department, I’m 
thinking, sergeant! ” returned Lundie, with a slight smile. 
“Well, then, may I tell the Cupid-stricken youth that the 
matter is as good as settled ? ” 

“ I thank your honor, but Mabel is betrothed to an- 
other. ” 

“ The devil she is! That will produce a stir in the fort, 
though I’m not sorry to jiear it, either, for to be frank 
with you, sergeant, I’m no great admirer of unequal 
matches.” 

“ I think with your honor, and have no desire to see my 
daughter an officer’s lady. If she can get as high as her 
mother was before her, it ought to satisfy any reasonable 
woman.” 

“ And may I ask, sergeant, who is the lucky man that 
you intend to call son-in-law ? ” 

“The Pathfinder, your honor.” 

“ Pathfinder! ” 

“The same, Major Duncan; and in naming him to you 
I give you his whole history. No one is better known on 
this frontier than my honest, brave, true-hearted friend.” 


140 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ All that is true enough ; but is he, after all, the sort 
of person to make a girl of twenty happy ? ” 

“ Why not, your honor ? The man is at the head of his 
calling. There is no other guide or scout connected with 
the army that has half the reputation of Pathfinder, or who 
deserves to have it half as well.” 

“ Very true, sergeant ; but is the reputation of a scout 
exactly the sort of renown to captivate a girl’s fancy ? ” 

“Talking of girls’ fancies, sir, is, in my humble opin- 
ion, much like talking of a recruit’s judgment. If we were 
to take the movements of the awkward squad, sir, as a 
guide, we should never form a decent line in battalion, 
Major Duncan.” 

“But your daughter has nothing awkward about her; 
for a genteeler girl of her class could not be found in old 
Albion itself. Is she of your way of thinking in this mat- 
ter ? — though I suppose she must be, as you say she is be- 
trothed.” 

“ We have not yet conversed on the subject, your honor, 
but I consider her mind as good as made up, from several 
little circumstances that might be named.” 

“ And what are these circumstances, sergeant ? ” asked 
the major, who began to take more interest than he had 
at first felt in the subject. “ I confess a little curiosity to 
learn something about a woman’s mind, being, as you 
know, a bachelor myself.” 

“ Why, your honor, when I speak of the Pathfinder to 
the girl, she always looks me full in the face, chimes in 
with everything I say in his favor, and has a frank, open 
way with her, which says as much as if she half considered 
him already as a husband.” 

“ Hum! — and these signs you think, Dunham, are faith- 
ful tokens of your daughter’s feelings ? ” 

“ I do, your honor, for they strike me as natural. When 
I find a man, sir, who looks me full in the face while he 
praises an officer — for, begging your honor’s pardon, the 
men will sometimes pass their strictures on their betters — 
and when I find a man looking me in the eyes as he praises 
his captain, I always set it down that the fellow is honest, 
and means what he says.” 

“ Is there not some material difference in the age of the 
intended bridegroom and that of his pretty bride, ser- 
geant ? ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


141 

“You are quite right, sir; Pathfinder is well advanced 
toward forty, and Mabel has every prospect of happiness 
that a young woman can derive from the certainty of pos- 
sessing an experienced husband. I was quite forty myself, 
your honor, when I married her mother.” 

“ But will your daughter be as likely to admire a green 
hunting-shirt, such as that our worthy guide wears, with 
a fox-skin cap, as the smart uniform of the 55th ? ” 

“Perhaps not, sir; and therefore she will have the 
merit of self-denial, which always makes a young woman 
wiser and better. ” 

“And are you not afraid that she may be left a widow 
while still a young woman ? What between wild beasts 
and wilder savages, Pathfinder may be said to carry his 
life in his hand. ” 

“‘Every bullet has its billet,’ Lundie,” for so the major 
was fond of being called in his moments of condescension 
and when not engaged in military affairs, “ and no man in 
the 55th can call himself beyond or above the chances of 
sudden death. In that particular Mabel would gain nothing 
by a change. Besides, sir, if I may speak freely on such 
a subject, I much doubt if ever Pathfinder dies in battle 
or by any of the sudden chances of the wilderness.” 

“ And why so, sergeant ? ” asked the major, looking at 
his inferior with the sort of reverence which a Scot of his 
day was more apt than at present to entertain for mysteri- 
ous agencies. “ He is a soldier, so far as danger is con- 
cerned, and one that is much more than usually exposed; 
and, being free of his person, why should he expect to 
escape, when others do not ? ” 

“ I do not believe, your honor, that the Pathfinder con- 
siders his own chances better than any one’s else, but the 
man will never die by a bullet. I have seen him so often 
handling his rifle with as much composure as if it were a 
shepherd’s crook, in the midst of the heaviest showers of 
bullets, and under so many extraordinary circumstances, 
that I do not think Providence means he should ever fall 
in that manner. And yet, if there be a man in his maj- 
esty’s dominions who really deserves such a death, it is 
Pathfinder! ” 

“We never know, sergeant,” returned Lundie, with a 
countenance that was grave with thought, “ and the less 


142 


THE PATHFINDER. 


we say about it perhaps the better. But will your daugh- 
ter — Mabel, I think you call her — will Mabel be as willing 
to accept one, who, after all, is a mere hanger-on of the 
army, as to take one from the service itself ? There is no 
hope of promotion for the guide, sergeant! ” 

“ He is at the head of his corps, already, your honor. 
In short, Mabel has made up her mind on this subject, 
and, as your honor has had the condescension to speak to 
me about Mr. Muir, I trust you will be kind enough to say 
that the girl is as good as billeted for life.” 

“ Well, well, this is your own matter, and now — Sergeant 
Dunham ! ” 

“ Your honor,” said the other, rising, and giving the cus- 
tomary salute. 

“ You have been told it is my intention to send you down 
among the Thousand Islands for the next month. All 
the old subalterns have had their tours of duty in that 
quarter — all that I like to trust, at least — and it has, at 
length, come to your turn. Lieutenant Muir, it is true, 
claims his right; but, being quartermaster, I do not like 
to break up well-established arrangements. Are the men 
drafted ? ” 

“ Everything is ready, your honor. The draft is made, 
and I understood that the canoe which got in last night 
brought a message to say that the party already below is 
looking out for the relief.” 

“ It did, and you must sail the day after to-morrow, if 
not to-morrow night. It will be wise, perhaps, to sail in 
the dark.” 

“ So Jasper thinks, Major Duncan; and 1 know no one 
more to be depended on in such an affair than young Jas- 
per Western.” 

“ Young Jasper Eau-douce! ” said Lundie, a slight smile 
gathering around his usually stern mouth. “ Will that lad 
be of your party, sergeant ? ” 

“Your honor will remember that the Scud never quits 
port without him.” 

“True, but all general rules have their exceptions. 
Have I not seen a seafaring person about the fort within 
the last few days ? ” 

“ No doubt, your honor; it is Master Cap, a brother-in- 
law of mine, who brought my daughter from below.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


143 


“ Why not put him in the Scud for this cruise, sergeant, 
and leave Jasper behind ? Your brother-in-law would like 
the variety of a fresh-water cruise, and you would enjoy 
more of his company.” 

“ I intended to ask your honor’s permission to take him 
along, but he must go as a volunteer. Jasper is too brave 
a lad to be turned out of his command without a reason, 
Major Duncan, and I’m afraid Brother Cap despises fresh 
water too much to do duty on it.” 

“ Quite right, sergeant, and I leave all this to your own 
discretion. Eau-douce must retain his command, on sec- 
ond thoughts. You intend that Pathfinder shall also be 
of the party ? ” 

If your honor approves of it. There will be service 
for both the guides, the Indian as well as the white 
man.” 

“ I think you are right. Well, sergeant, I wish you good 
luck in the enterprise; and remember, the post is to be 
destroyed and abandoned when your command is with- 
drawn. It will have done its work by that time, or we 
shall have failed entirely, and it is too ticklish a position 
to be maintained unnecessarily. You can retire.” 

Sergeant Dunham gave the customary salute, turned on 
his heels as if they had been pivots, and had got the door 
nearly drawn to after him, when he was suddenly recalled. 

“ I had forgotten, sergeant, the younger officers have 
begged for a shooting-match, and to-morrow has been 
named for the day. All competitors will be admitted, and 
the prizes will be a silver-mounted powder-horn, a leathern 
flask-ditto,” reading from a piece of paper, “as I see by 
the professional jargon of this bill, and a silk calash for a 
lady. The latter is to enable the victor to show his gal- 
lantry, by making an offering of it to her he best loves.” 

“ All very agreeable, you honor, at least to him that 
succeeds. Is the Pathfinder to be permitted to enter ? ” 

“ I do not well see how he can be excluded, if he chooses 
to come forward. Latterly, I have observed that he takes 
no share in these sports, probably from a conviction of his 
own unequalled skill.” 

“That’s it, Major Duncan; the honest fellow knows 
there is not a man on the frontier who can equal him, and 
he does not wish to spoil the pleasure of others. I think 


144 


THE PATHFINDER. 


we may trust to his delicacy in anything, sir. Perhaps it 
may be as well to let him have his own way. ,y 

“ In this instance we must, sergeant. Whether he will be 
as successful in all others remains to be seen. I wish you 
good-evening, Dunham.” 

The sergeant now withdrew, leaving Duncan of Lundie 
to his own thoughts. That they were not altogether dis- 
agreeable was to be inferred from the smiles which occa- 
sionally covered a countenance that was hard and mart/al 
in its usual expression, though there were moments in 
which all its severe sobriety prevailed. Half an hour 
might have passed, when a tap at the door was answered 
by a direction to enter. A middle-aged man, in the dress 
of an officer, but whose uniform wanted the usual smart- 
ness of the profession, made his appearance, and was sa- 
luted as “ Mr. Muir.” 

“ I have come, sir, at your bidding, to know my fortune/’ 
said the quartermaster, in a strong Scotch accent, as soon 
as he had taken the seat which was proffered to him. 
“ To say the truth to you, Major Duncan, this girl is mak- 
ing as much havoc in the garrison as the French did before 
Ty ; I never witnessed so general a rout in so short a time. ” 

“ Surely, Davy, you don’t mean to persuade me that your 
young and unsophisticated heart is in such a flame after 
one week’s ignition. Why, man, this is worse than the 
affair in Scotland, where it was said the heart within was 
so intense that it just burnt a hole through your own pre- 
cious body, and left a place for all the lassies to peer in at, 
to see what the combustible material was worth.” 

“ Ye’ll have your own way, Major Duncan, and your 
father and mother would have theirs before ye, even if the 
enemy were in the camp. I see nothing so extraordinar’ 
in young people’s following the bent of their inclinations 
and wishes.” 

“ But you’ve followed yours so often, Davy, that I should 
think, by this time, it had lost the edge of novelty. In- 
cluding the informal affair in Scotland, when you were a 
lad, you’ve been married four times already.” 

“ Only three, major, as I hope to get another wife. I’ve 
not yet had my number: no — no — only three.” 

“I’m thinking, Davy, you didn’t include the first affair 
I mentioned — that in which there was no parson- ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


145 


“ And why should I, major ? The courts decided that it 
was no marriage, and what more could a man want ? The 
woman took advantage of a slight amorous propensity, 
that may be a weakness in my disposition, perhaps, and 
inveigled me into a contract that was found to be illegal. 

“ If I remember right, Muir, there were thought to be 
two sides to that question, in the time of it! ” 

“ It would be but an indifferent question, my dear 
major, that hadn’t two sides to it; and I’ve known many 
that had three. But the poor woman’s dead, and there 
was no issue, so nothing came of it, after all. Then I 
was particularly unfortunate with my second wife — I say 
second, major, out of deference to you, and on the mere 
supposition that the first was a marriage at all — but, first or 
second, I was particularly unfortunate with Jeannie Gra- 
ham, who died in the first lustrum, leaving neither chick 
nor chiel behind her. I do think if Jeannie had survived, 
I never should have turned my thoughts toward another 
wife.” 

“ But as she did not, you married twice after her death 
— and are desirous of doing so a third time.” 

“The truth can never justly be gainsaid, Major Dun- 
can, and I am always ready to avow it. I’m thinking, 
Lundie, you are melancholar this fine evening ? ” 

“No, Muir, not melancholy absolutely, but a little 
thoughtful, I confess. I was looking back on my boyish 
days, when I, the laird’s son, and you, the parson’s, roamed 
about our native hills, happy and careless boys, taking 
little heed to the future; and then have followed some 
thoughts that may be a little painful, concerning that fu- 
ture, as it has turned out to be.” 

“ Surely, Lundie, ye do not complain of your portion of 
it. You’ve risen to be a major,’ and will soon be a lieuten- 
ant-colonel, if letters tell the truth; while I am just one 
step higher than when your honored father gave me my 
first commission, and a poor deevil of a quartermaster.” 

“ And the four wives ? ” 

“ Three, Lundie; three only that were legal, even under 
our own liberal and sanctified laws.” 

“Well, then, let it be three. Ye know, Davy,” said 
Major Duncan, insensibly dropping into the pronunciation 
and dialect of his youth, as is much the practice with edu- 

1Q 


THE PATHFINDER. 


146 

cated Scotchmen as they warm with a subject that comes 
near the heart — “ ye know, Davy, that my own choice has 
long been made, and in how anxious and hope-wearied a 
manner I’ve waited for that happy hour when I can call 
the woman I’ve so long loved a wife; and here have you 
without fortune, name, birth, or merit — I mean particular 
merit ” 

“ Na, na — dinna say that, Lundie — the Muirs are of 
gude bluid.” 

“Well, then, without aught but bluid ye’ve wived four 
times ” 

“ I tell ye but thrice, Lundie. Ye’ll weaken auld friend- 
ship if ye call it four.” 

“ Put it at yer own number, Davy, and it’s far more 
than yer share. Our lives have been very different on 
the score of matrimony, at least; you must allow that, my 
old friend.” 

“And which do you think has been the gainer, major, 
speaking as frankly thegither as we did when lads ? ” 

“Nay, I’ve nothing to conceal. My days have passed 
in hope deferred, while yours have passed in ” 

“ Not in hope realized, I give you mine honor, Major 
Duncan,” interrupted the quartermaster. “ Each new ex- 
periment I have thought might prove an advantage, but 
disappointment seems the lot of man! Ah! this is a vain 
world of ours, Lundie, it must be owned ; and in nothing 
vainer than in matrimony.” 

“ And yet you are ready to put your neck into the noose 
for the fifth time ? ” 

“I desire to say it will be for the fourth, Major Dun- 
can,” said the quartermaster, positively; then instantly 
changing the expression of his face to one of boyish rap- 
ture, he added: “But this Mabel Dunham is a rara avis ! 
Our Scotch lassies are fair and pleasant, but it must be 
owned these colonials are of surpassing comeliness.” 

“You will do well to recollect your commission and 
blood, Davy; I believe all four of your wives ” 

“ I wish, my dear Lundie, ye’d be more accurate in your 
arithmetic — three times one make three.” 

“ All three, then, were what might be termed gentle- 
women.” 

“That’s just it, major. Three were gentlewomen, as 
you say, and the connections were suitable.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


147 


“And the fourth being the daughter of my father’s 
gardener, the connection was unsuitable. But have you 
no fear that marrying the child of a non-commissioned 
officer, who is in the same corps with yourself, will 
have the effect to lessen your consequence in the regi- 
ment ? ” 

“That’s just been my weakness through life, Major 
Duncan; for I’ve always married without regard to conse- 
quences. Every man has his besetting sin, and matrimony, 
I fear, is mine. And now that we have discussed what 
may be called the principles of the connection, I will just 
ask if you did me the favor to speak to the sergeant on 
the trifling affair ? ” 

“ I did, David, and am sorry to say for your hopes that 
I see no great chance of your succeeding.” 

“ Not succeeding! An officer, and a quartermaster into 
the bargain, and not succeed with a sergeant’s daughter! ” 

“ It’s just that, Davy.” 

“ And why not, Lundie ? Will you have the goodness 
to answer just that ? ” 

“ The girl is betrothed. Hand plighted, word passed, 
love pledged — no, hang me if I believe that, either; but 
she is betrothed.” 

“Well, that’s an obstacle, it must be avowed, major; 
though it counts for little if the heart is free.” 

“Quite true; and I think it probable the heart is free 
in this case, for the intended husband appears to be the 
choice of the father rather than of the daughter.” 

“ And who may it be, major ? ” asked the quartermaster, 
who viewed the whole matter with the philosophy and 
coolness that are acquired by use. “ I do not recollect 
any plausible suitor that is likely to stand in my way.” 

“No, you are the only plausible suitor on the frontier, 
Davy. The happy man is Pathfinder.” 

“ Pathfinder, Major Duncan! ” 

“No more nor any less, David Muir. Pathfinder is the 
man; but it may relieve your jealousy a little to know 
that, in my judgment at least, it is a match of the father’s, 
rather than of the daughter’s, seeking.” 

“ I thought as much ! ” exclaimed the quartermaster, 
drawing a long breath, like one who felt relieved ; “ it’s quite 
impossible, that with my experience in human nature ” 


148 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Particularly hu-woman’s nature, David! ” 

“Ye will have yer joke, Lundie, let who will suffer! 
But I did not think it possible I could be deceived as to 
the young woman’s inclinations, which I think I may 
boldly pronounce to be altogether above the condition of 
Pathfinder. As for the individual himself — why, time will 
show.” 

“Now, tell me frankly, Davy Muir,” said Lundie, stop- 
ping short in his walk, and looking the other earnestly in 
the face, with a comical expression of surprise that ren- 
dered the veteran’s countenance ridiculously earnest, “do 
you really suppose a girl like the daughter of Sergeant 
Dunham can take a serious fancy to a man of your years, 
and appearance — and experience, I might add ? ” 

“ Hout awa’, Lundie! ye dinna know the sax, and that’s 
the reason ye’re unmarried in yer forty-fifth year. It’s a 
fearfu’ time ye’ve been a bachelor, major! ” 

“And what may be your age, Lieutenant Muir, if I may 
presume to ask so delicate a question ? ” 

“Forty-seven; I’ll no deny it, Lundie, and if I get 
Mabel there’ll be just a wife for every twa lustrums! But 
I didna think Sergeant Dunham would be so humble- 
minded as to dream of giving that sweet lass of his to one 
like the Pathfinder! ” 

“ There’s no dream about it, Davy; the man is as seri- 
ous as a soldier about to be flogged.” 

“ Well, well, major, we are auld friends ” — both ran into 
the Scotch, or avoided it, as they approached or drew 
away from their younger days, in the dialogue — “and 
ought to know how to give and take a joke off duty. It 
is possible the worthy man has not understood my hints, 
or he never would have thought of such a thing. The 
difference between an officer’s consort and a guide’s wo- 
man is as vast as that between the antiquity of Scotland 
and the antiquity of America. I’m auld bluid, too.” 

Take my word for it, Davy, your antiquity will do you 
no good in this affair; and as for your blood, it is not 
older than your bones. Well, well, man, ye know the 
sergeant’s answer, and so you perceive that my influence, 
on which you counted so much, can do naught for ye. 
Let us take a glass thegither, Davy, for auld acquaint- 
ance’ sake, and then ye’ll be doing well to remember the 


THE PATHFINDER. 


149 


party that marches the morrow, and to forget Mabel Dun- 
ham as last as ever you can.” 

“Ah! major, I have always found it easier to forget a 
wife than to forget a sweetheart! When a couple are 
fairly married, all is settled but the death, as one may 
say, which must finally part us all, and it seems to me 
awfu’ irreverent to disturb the departed; whereas, there 
is so much anxiety, and hope, and felicity, in expectation 
like, with the lassie, that it keeps thought alive.” 

“That is just my idea of your situation, Davy, for I 
never supposed you expected any more felicity with either 
of your wives. Now, I've heard of fellows who were so 
stupid as to look forward to happiness with their wives, 
even beyond the grave. I drink to your success, or to 
your speedy recovery from the attack, lieutenant; and I 
admonish you to be more cautious in future, as some of 
these violent cases may yet carry you off.” 

“ Many thanks, dear major; and a speedy termination 
to an old courtship, of which I know something. This is 
real mountain-dew Lundie, and it warms the heart like a 
gleam of bonny Scotland. As for the men you’ve just 
mentioned, they could have had but one wife apiece, for 
where there are several, the deeds of the women them- 
selves may carry them different ways. I think a reason- 
able husband ought to be satisfied with passing his allotted 
time with any particular wife, in this world, and not to go 
about moping for things unattainable. I’m infinitely 
obliged to you, Major Duncan, for this and all your other 
acts of friendship; and if you could but add another, I 
should think you had not altogether forgotten the play- 
fellow of your boyhood.” 

“Well, Davy, if the request be reasonable, and such as 
a superior ought to grant, out with it, man.” 

“ If ye could only contrive a little service for me down 
among the Thousand Isles, for a fortnight or so, I think 
this matter might be settled to the satisfaction of all parties. 
Just remember, Lundie, the lassie is the only marriageable 
white female on this frontier! ” 

“ There is always duty for one in your line at a post, 
however small ; but this below can be done by the ser- 
geant as well as by the quartermaster-general, and better 
too.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


15 ° 

“ But not better than by a regimental officer. There is 
great waste, in common, among the orderlies. ” 

“ I’ll think of it, Muir,” said the major, laughing, “and 
you shall have my answer in the morning. Here will be 
a fine occasion, man, the morrow, to show yourself off 
before the lady; you are expert with the rifle, and prizes 
are to be won. Make up your mind to display your skill, 
and who knows what may yet happen before the Scud 
sails ? ” 

“I’m thinking most of the young men will try their 
hands in this sport, major ? ” 

“ That will they, and some of the old ones, too, if you 
appear. To keep you in countenance, I’ll try a shot or 
two myself, Davy ; and you know I have some name that 
way.” 

“It might, indeed, do good! The female heart, Major 
Duncan, is susceptible in many different modes, and some- 
times in a way that the rules of philosophy might reject. 
Some require a suitor to sit down before them, as it might 
be, in a regular siege, and only capitulate when the place 
can hold out no longer; others, again, like to be carried 
by storm; while there are hussies who can only be caught 
by leading them into an ambush. The former is the most 
creditable and officer-like process, perhaps, but I must say 
I think the last the most pleasing.” 

41 An opinion formed from experience, out of all question. 
And what of the storming parties ? ” 

“They may do for younger men, Lundie,” returned the 
quartermaster, rising and winking, a liberty which he often 
took with his commanding officer on the score of a long 
intimacy; “every period of life has its necessities, and at 
forty-seven it’s just as well to trust a little to the head. I 
wish you a very good-even, Major Duncan, and freedom 
from gout, with a sweet and refreshing sleep.” 

“ The same to yourself, Mr. Muir, with many thanks. 
Remember the passage of arms for the morrow.” 

The quartermaster withdrew, leaving Lundie in his li- 
brary to reflect on what had just passed. Use had so 
accustomed Major Duncan to Lieutenant Muir and all his 
traits and humors, that the conduct of the latter did not 
strike the former with the same force as it will probably 
strike the reader. In truth, while all men act under one 


THE PATHFINDER. 


151 

common law that is termed nature, the varieties in their 
dispositions, modes of judging, feelings, and selfishness 
are infinite. 


CHAPTER XI. 

* Compel the hawke to sit that is unmanned, 

Or make the hound, untaught, to draw the deere, 

Or bring the free against his will in band, 

Or move the sad a pleasant tale to heere. 

Your time is lost, and you no whit the neere ! 

So you ne learnes, of force the heart to knit : 

She serves but those that feels sweet fancies’ fit.’' 

— Mirror for Magistrates. 

It is not often that hope is rewarded by fruition as com- 
pletely as the wishes of the young men of the garrison 
were met by the state of the weather on the succeeding 
day. It may be no more than the ordinary waywardness 
of man, but the Americans are a little accustomed to tak- 
ing pride in things that the means of intelligent compari- 
sons would probably show were, in reality, of a very infe- 
rior quality, while they overlook or undervalue advantages 
that place them certainly on a level with, if not above, 
most of their fellow-creatures. Among the latter is the 
climate, which, as a whole, though far from perfect, is 
infinitely more agreeable, and quite as healthy, as those 
of most of the countries which are loudest in their denun- 
ciations of it. 

The heats of summer were little felt at Oswego, at the 
period of which we are writing ; for the shade of the forest, 
added to the refreshing breezes from the lake, so far re- 
duced the influence of the sun as to render the nights 
always cool and the days seldom oppressive. 

It was now September, a month in which the strong gales 
of the coast often appear to force themselves across the 
country as far as the great lakes, where the inland sailor 
sometimes feels that genial influence which characterizes 
the winds of the ocean, invigorating his frame, cheering 
his spirits, and arousing his moral force. Such a day was 
that o r ^hich the garrison of Oswego assembled to wit- 


* 5 * 


THE PATHFINDER. 


ness what its commander had jocularly called a “ passage 
of arms.” Lundie was a scholar, in military matters at 
least, and it was one of his sources of honest pride to di- 
rect the reading and thoughts of the young men under his 
orders to the more intellectual parts of their profession, 
For one in his situation, his library was both good and 
extensive, and its books were freely lent to all who desired 
to use them. Among other whims that had found their 
way into the garrison, through these means, was a relish 
for that sort of amusement in which it was now about to 
indulge, and around which some chronicles of the days of 
chivalry had induced them to throw a parade and romance 
that were not unsuited to the chsaracters and habits of sol- 
diers or to the insulated and wild post occupied by this 
particular garrison. While so earnestly bent on pleasure, 
however, they on whom the duty devolved did not neglect 
the safety of the garrison. One standing on the ramparts 
of the fort, and gazing on the waste of glittering water 
that bounds the view all along the northern horizon, and 
on the slumbering and seemingly boundless forest that 
filled the other half of the panorama, would have fancied 
the spot the very abode of peacefulness and security ; but 
Duncan of Lundie too well knew that the woods might at 
any moment give up their hundreds, bent on the destruc- 
tion of the fort and all it contained, and that even the 
treacherous lake offered a highway of easy approach, by 
which his more civilized and scarcely less wily foes, the 
French, could come upon him, at an unwelcome and un- 
guarded moment. Parties were sent out, under old and 
vigilant officers, men who cared little for the sports of the 
day, to scour the forests; and one entire company held the 
fort under arms, with orders to maintain a vigilance as 
strict as if an enemy of superior force was known to be 
near. With these precautions, the remainder of the offi- 
cers and men abandoned themselves, without apprehen- 
sion, to the business of the morning. 

The spot selected for the sports was a sort of esplanade 
a little west of the fort, and on the immediate bank of the 
lake. It had been cleared of its trees and stumps, that it 
might answer the purpose of a parade ground, as it pos- 
sessed the advantages of having its rear protected by the 
water, and one of its flanks by the works. Men drilling 


i'HE PATHFINDER. 


153 


on it could be attacked, consequently, on two sides only: 
and as the cleared space beyond it, in the direction of the 
west and south, was large, any assailants would be com- 
pelled to quit the cover of the woods, before they could 
make any approach sufficiently near to render them dan- 
gerous. 

Although the regular arms of the regiment were muskets, 
some fifty rifles were produced on the present occasion. 
Every officer had one, as a part of his private provision 
for amusement; many belonged to the scouts and friendly 
Indians, of whom more or less were always hanging about 
the fort; and there was a public provision of them, for the 
use of those who followed the game with the express ob- 
ject of obtaining supplies. Among those who carried the 
weapon were some five or six who had reputations for 
knowing how to use it particularly well — so well, indeed, 
as to have given them a celebrity on the frontier: twice 
that number who were believed to be much better than 
common; and many who would have been thought expert 
in almost any situation but the precise one in which they 
now happened to be placed. 

The distance was a hundred yards, and the weapon was 
to be used without a rest ; the target, a board, with the 
customary circular lines in white paint, having the bull’s- 
eye in the centre. The first trials in skill commenced 
with challenges among the more ignoble of the competi- 
tors, to display their steadiness and dexterity in idle com- 
petition. None but the common men engaged in this 
strife, which had little to interest the spectators, among 
whom no officer had yet appeared. 

Most of the soldiers were Scotch, the regiment having 
been raised at Stirling and its vicinity, not many years 
before; though, as in the case of Sergeant Dunham, many 
Americans had joined it since its arrival in the colonies. 
As a matter of course, the provincials were generally the 
most expert marksmen : and after a desultory trial of half 
an hour, it was necessarily conceded that a youth who 
had been born in the colony of New York, and who, com- 
ing of Dutch extraction, bore the euphonious name of 
Van Valkenburgh, but was familiarly called Follock, was 
the most expert of all who had yet tried their skill. It 
was just as this opinion prevailed that the oldest captain* 


154 


THE PATHFINDER. 


accompanied by most of the gentlemen and ladies of the 
fort, appeared on the parade. A train of some twenty- 
females of humbler condition followed, among whom was 
seen the well-turned form, intelligent, blooming, animated 
countenance, and neat, becoming attire of Mabel Dunham. 

Of females who were officially recognized as belonging 
to the class of ladies, there .were but three in the fort, all 
of whom were officers’ wives; staid, matronly women, with 
the simplicity of the habits of middle life, singularly mixed 
in their deportment with their notions of professional su- 
periority, the rights and duties of caste, and the etiquette 
of rank. The other women were the wives of non-com- 
missioned officers and privates, Mabel being strictly, as 
had been stated by the quartermaster, the only real candi- 
date for matrimony among her sex. There was a dozen 
other girls, it is true, but they were still classed among 
the children, none of them being yet of age to elevate 
them into objects of legitimate admiration. 

Some little preparation had been made for the proper 
reception of the females, who were placed on a low stag- 
ing of planks, near the immediate bank of the lake. In 
this vicinity the prizes were suspended from a post. Great 
care was taken to reserve the front seat of the stage for 
the three ladies and their children: while Mabel and those 
who belonged to the non-commissioned officers of the regi- 
ment occupied the second. The wives and daughters of 
the privates were huddled together in the rear, some stand- 
ing, and some sitting, as they could find room. Mabel, 
who had already been admitted to the society of the offi- 
cers’ wives, on the footing of an humble companion, was 
a good deal noticed by the ladies in front, who had a 
proper appreciation of modest self-respect and gentle re- 
finement, though they were all fully aware of the value of 
rank, more particularly in a garrison. 

As soon as this important portion of the spectators had 
got into their places, Lundie gave orders for the trial of 
skill to proceed, in the manner that had been prescribed 
in his previous orders. Some eight or ten of the best 
marksmen of the garrison now took possession of the 
stand, and began to fire in succession. Among them were 
officers and men indiscriminately placed, nor were the 
casual visitors in the fort excluded from the competition. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


155 


As might have been expected of men whose amusements 
and comfortable subsistence equally depended on skill in 
the use of their weapons, it was soon found that they were 
all sufficiently expert to hit the bull’s-eye or the white 
spot in the centre of the target. Others who succeeded 
them, it is true, were less sure, their bullets striking in the 
different circles that surrounded the centre of the target, 
without touching it. 

According to the rules of the day, none could proceed 
to the second trial who had failed in the first; and the 
adjutant of the place, who acted as master of ceremonies 
or marshal of the day, called upon the successful adven- 
turers by name to get ready for the next effort, while he 
gave notice that those who failed to present themselves 
for the shot at the bull’s-eye would necessarily be ex- 
cluded from all the higher trials. Just at this moment, 
Lundie,the quartermaster, and Jasper Eau-douce appeared 
in the group at the stand, while the Pathfinder walked 
leisurely on the ground, without his beloved rifle — for him 
a measure so unusual as to be understood by all present 
as a proof that he did not consider himself a competitor 
for the honors of the day. All made way for Major Dun- 
can, who, as he approached the stand, in a good-humored 
way took his station, levelled his rifle carelessly, and fired. 
The bullet missed the required mark by several inches. 

“ Major Duncan is excluded from the other trials!” 
proclaimed the adjutant, in a voice so strong and confi- 
dent that all the elder officers and sergeants well under- 
stood that this failure was preconcerted, while the younger 
gentlemen and the privates felt new encouragement to 
proceed, on account of the evident impartiality with which 
the laws of the sports were administered, nothing being so 
attractive to the unsophisticated as the appearance of 
rigorous justice, and nothing so rare as its actual adminis- 
tration. 

“ Now, Master Eau-douce, comes your turn,” said Muir, 
“and if you do not beat the major, I shall say that your 
hand is better skilled with the oar than with the rifle.” 

Jasper’s handsome face flushed. He stepped upon the 
stand, cast a hasty glance at Mabel, whose pretty form he 
ascertained was bending eagerly forward as if to note 
the result, dropped the barrel 01 his rifle, with but Tttle 


156 


THE PATHFINDER. 


apparent care, into the palm of his left hand, raised the 
muzzle for a single instant, with exceeding steadiness, and 
fired. The bullet passed directly through the centre of 
the bull’s-eye, much the best shot of the morning, since 
the others had merely touched the paint. 

“Well performed, Master Jasper,” said Muir, as soon 
as the result was declared ; “ and a shot that might have 
done credit to an older head and a more experienced eye. 
I’m thinking, notwithstanding, there was some of a young- 
ster’s luck in it, for ye were no partic’lar in the aim ye 
took. Ye may be quick, Eau-douce, in the movement, but 
ye’re not philosophic nor scientific in yer management of 
the weapon. Now, Sergeant Dunham, I’ll thank you to 
request the ladies to give a closer attention than common, 
for I’m about to make that use of the rifle which may be 
called the intellectual. Jasper would have killed, I allow; 
but then there would not have been half the satisfaction 
in receiving such a shot as in receiving one that is dis- 
charged scientifically. ” 

All this time the quartermaster was preparing himself 
for the scientific trial: but he delayed his aim until he saw 
that the eye of Mabel, in common with those of her com- 
panions, was fastened on him in curiosity. As the others 
left him room, out of respect to his rank, no one stood near 
the competitor but his commanding officer, to whom he 
now said in his familiar manner: 

“Ye see, Lundie, that something is to be gained by ex- 
citing a female’s curiosity. It’s an active sentiment, is 
curiosity, and, properly improved, may lead to gentler in- 
clinations in the end. ” 

“Very true, Davy; but you keep us all waiting while 
ye make your preparations; and here is Pathfinder draw- 
ing near to catch a lesson from your greater experience.” 

“Well, Pathfinder, and so you have come to get an idea, 
too, concerning the philosophy of shooting! I do not wish 
to hide my light under a bushel, and ye’re welcome to all 
ye’ll learn. Do you mean to try a shot yersel’, man?” 

“ Why should I, quartermaster — why should I ? I want 
none of the prizes; and as for honor, I have enough of 
that, if it’s any honor to shoot better than yourself. I’m 
not a woman to wear a calash.” 

“ Very true; but ye might find a woman that is precious 
in your eyes to wear it for ye, as ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 157 

“ Come, Davy,” interrupted the major, “your shot or a 
retreat. The adjutant is getting to be impatient.” 

“The quartermaster’s department and the adjutant’s 
department are seldom compliable, Lundie; but I’m 
ready. Stand a little aside, Pathfinder, and give the ladies 
an opportunity.” 

Lieutenant Muir now took his attitude with a good deal 
of studied elegance, raised his rifle slowly, lowered it, 
raised it again, repeated the manoeuvres, and fired. 

“ Missed the target altogether! ” shouted the man whose 
duty it was to mark the bullets, and who had little relish for 
the quartermaster’s tedious science. “ Missed the target ! ” 

“It cannot be!” cried Muir, his face flushing equally 
with indignation and shame; “it cannot be, adjutant; for 
I never did so awkward a thing in my life. I appeal to 
the ladies for a juster judgment.” 

“The ladies shut their eyes when you fired,” exclaimed 
the regimental wags. “ Your preparations alarmed them.” 

“ I will na believe such a calumny of the leddies, nor 
sic’ a reproach on my own skill,” returned the quarter- 
master, growing more and more Scotch, as he warmed 
with his feelings; “it’s a conspiracy to rob a meritorious 
man of his dues.” 

“It’s a dead miss, Muir,” said the laughing Lundie, 
“and ye’ll just sit down quietly with the disgrace.” 

“No — no — major,” Pathfinder at length observed, “the 
quartermaster is a good shot, for a slow one and a meas- 
ured distance; though nothing extr’or’nary for raal sar- 
vice. He has covered Jasper’s bullet, as will be seen, if 
any one will take the trouble to examine the target.” 

The respect for Pathfinder’s skill, and for his quickness 
and accuracy of sight, was so profound and general that 
the instant he made this declaration the spectators began 
to distrust their own opinions, and a dozen rushed to the 
target in order to ascertain the fact. There, sure enough, 
it was found that the quartermaster’s bullet had gone 
through the hole made by Jasper’s, and that, too, so ac- 
curately as to require a minute examination to be certain 
of the circumstances; which, however, was soon clearly 
established, by discovering one bullet over the other, in 
the stump against which the target was placed. 

“ I told ye, ladies, ye were about to witness the influ- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


I5S 

ence of science on gunnery,” said the quartermaster, ad- 
vancing toward the staging occupied by the females. 
“ Major Duncan derides the idea of mathematics entering 
into target-shooting; but I tell him philosophy colors, and 
enlarges, and improves, and dilates, and explains every- 
thing that belongs to human life, whether it be a shooting- 
match or a sermon. In a word, philosophy is philosophy, 
and that is saying all that the subject requires.” 

“ I trust you exclude love from the catalogue,” observed 
the wife of a captain, who knew the history of the quarter- 
master’s marriages, and who had a woman’s malice against 
the monopolizer of her sex — “ it seems that philosophy has 
little in common with love.” 

“You wouldn’t say that, madam, if your heart had ex- 
perienced many trials. It’s the man or the woman that 
has had many occasions to improve the affections that can 
best speak of such matters; and, believe me, of all love, 
philosophical is the most lasting, as it is the most rational. ” 

“You would then recommend experience as an improve- 
ment on the passion ? ” 

“Your quick mind has conceived the idea at a glance. 
The happiest marriages are those in which youth, and 
beauty, and confidence, on one side, rely on the sagacity, 
moderation, and prudence of years — middle age, I mean, 
madam, for I’ll no deny that there is such a thing as a 
husband’s being too old for a wife. Here is Sergeant 
Dunham’s charming daughter, too, now to approve of such 
sentiments, I’m certain — her character for discretion being 
already well established in the garrison, short as has been 
her residence among us.” 

“ Sergeant Dunham’s daughter is scarcely a fitting in- 
terlocutor in a discourse between you and me, Lieutenant 
Muir,” rejoined the captain’s lady, with careful respect 
for her own dignity — “ and yonder is the Pathfinder about 
to take his chance, by way of changing the subject.” 

“ I protest, Major Dunham, I protest ” — cried Muir, 
hurrying back toward the stand, with both arms elevated 
by way of enforcing his words — “ I protest, in the strong- 
est terms, gentlemen, against Pathfinder’s being admitted 
into these sports with Kill-deer, which is a piece, to say 
nothing of long habit, that is altogether out of proportion 
for a trial of skill against government rifles.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


159 


“ Kill-deer is taking its rest, quartermaster, ” returned 
Pathfinder calmly, “ and no one here thinks of disturbing 
it. I did not think myself of pulling a trigger to-day ; but 
Sergeant Dunham has been persuading me that I shall not 
do proper honor to his handsome daughter, who came in 
under my care, if I am backward on such an occasion. 
I’m using Jasper’s rifle, quartermaster, as you may see, 
and that is no better than your own.” 

Lieutenant Muir was now obliged to acquiesce, and 
every eye turned toward Pathfinder, as he took the re- 
quired station. The air and attitude of the celebrated 
guide and hunter were extremely fine as he raised his tall 
form and levelled the piece, showing perfect self-command 
and a thorough knowledge of the power of the human 
frame, as well as of the weapon. Pathfinder was not what 
is usually termed a handsome man, though his appearance 
excited so much confidence, and commanded respect. 
Tall, and even muscular, his frame might have been es- 
teemed nearly perfect, were it not for the total absence of 
everything like flesh. Whip-cord was scarcely more rigid 
than his arms and legs, or, at need, more pliable; but the 
outlines of his person were rather too angular for the pro- 
portion that the eye most approves. Still, his motions, 
being natural, were graceful ; and, being calm and regu- 
lated, they gave him an air of dignity that associated well 
with the idea that was so prevalent of his services and 
peculiar merits. His honest, open features were burnt to 
a bright red, that comported with the notion of exposure 
and hardships, while his sinewy hands denoted force, and 
a species of use that was removed from the stiffening and 
deforming effects of labor. Although no one perceived 
any of those gentler or more insinuating qualities which 
are apt to win upon a woman’s affections, as he raised his 
rifle, not a female eye was fastened on him without a silent 
approbation of the freedom of his movements, and the 
manliness of his air. Thought was scarcely quicker than 
his aim, and, as the smoke floated above his head, the 
breech of his rifle was seen on the ground, the hand of 
the Pathfinder was leaning on the barrel, and his honest 
countenance was illuminated by his usual silent, hearty 
laugh. 

“If one dared to hint at such a thing,” cried Major 


lOO 


THE PATHFINDER* 


Duncan, “ I should say that the Pathfinder had also missed 
the target! ” 

“No — no — major,” returned the guide, confidently* 
“that would be a risky declaration. I didn’t load the 
piece, and can’t say what was in it; but if it was lead, you 
will find the bullet driving down those of the quartermas- 
ter’s and Jasper’s; else is not my name Pathfinder.” 

A shout from the target announced the truth of this 
assertion. 

“That’s not all — that’s not all, boys,” called out the 
guide, who was now slowly advancing toward the stage 
occupied by the females — “ if you find the target touched 
at all, I’ll own to a miss. The quartermaster cut the 
wood, but you’ll find no wood cut by that last messenger.” k 

“Very true, Pathfinder, very true,” answered Muir, who 
was lingering near Mabel, though ashamed to address her 
particularly, in the presence of the officers’ wives. “ The 
quartermaster did cut the wood, and by that means he 
opened a passage for your bullet, which went through the 
hole he had made.” 

“Well, quartermaster, there goes the nail, and we’ll see 
who can drive it closest, you or I ; for, though I did not 
think of showing what a rifle can do to-day, now my hand 
is in, I’ll turn my back to no man that carries King 
George’s commission. Chingachgook is outlying, or he 
might force me into some of the niceties of the art; but 
as for you, quartermaster, if the nail don’t stop you, the 
potato will.” 

“You’re over-boastful this morning, Pathfinder; but 
you’ll find you’ve no green boy, fresh from the settlements 
and the towns, to deal with, I will assure ye! ” 

“I know that well, quartermaster; I know that well, 
and shall not deny your experience. You’ve lived many 
years on the frontiers, and I’ve heard of you in the 
colonies, and among the Injins, too, quite a human life 
ago.” 

“ Na — na,” interrupted Muir, in his broadest Scotch, 

“ this is injustice, man. I’ve no lived so very long, neither. ” 

“ I’ll do you justice, lieutenant, even if you get the best 
in the potato trial. I say you’ve passed a good human 
life, for a soldier, in places where the rifle is daily used, 
and I know you are a creditable and ingenious marksman; 


THE PATHFINDER. 


x6i 


but then you are not a true rifle-shooter. As for boasting, 
I hope I’m not a vain talker about my own exploits; but 
a man’s gifts are his gifts, and it’s flying in the face of 
Providence to deny them. The sergeant’s daughter, here, 
shall judge atween us, if you have the stomach to submit 
to so pretty a judge.” 

The Pathfinder had named Mabel as the arbiter because 
he admired her, and because, in his eyes, rank had little 
or no value; but Lieutenant Muir shrank at such a refer- 
ence in the presence of the wives of the officers. He would 
gladly keep himself constantly before the eyes and the 
imagination of the object of his wishes; but he was still 
too much under the influence of old prejudices, and per- 
haps too wary, to appear openly as her suitor, unless he 
saw something very like a certainty of success. On the 
discretion of Major Duncan he had a full reliance, and he 
apprehended no betrayal from that quarter; but he was 
quite aware, should it ever get abroad that he had been 
refused by the child of a non-commissioned officer, he 
would find great difficulty in making his approaches to any 
other woman of a condition to which he might reasonably 
aspire. Notwithstanding these doubts and misgivings, 
Mabel looked so prettily, blushed so charmingly, smiled 
so sweetly, and altogether presented so winning a picture 
of youth, spirit, modesty, and beauty that he found it 
exceedingly tempting to be kept so prominently before 
her imagination, and to be able to address her freely. 

“You shall have it your own way, Pathfinder,” he an- 
swered, as soon as his doubts had settled down into de- 
termination — “ let the sergeant’s daughter — his charming 
daughter, I should have termed her — be the umpire, then; 
and to her we will both dedicate the prize that one or the 
other must certainly win. Pathfinder must be humored, 
ladies, as you perceive, else, no doubt, we should have had 
the honor to submit ourselves to one of your charming so- 
ciety.” 

A call for the competitors now drew the quartermaster 
and his adversary away; and in a few moments the second 
trial of skill commenced. A common wrought nail was 
driven lightly into the target, its head having been first 
touched with paint, and the marksman was required to hit 
it or he lost his chances in the succeeding trials. AT o one 

ii 


162 


THE PATHFINDER. 


was permitted to enter on this occasion who had already 
failed in the essay against the bull’s-eye. 

There might have been half a dozen aspirants for the 
honors of this trial, one or two who had barely succeeded 
in touching the spot of paint in the previous strife pre- 
ferring to rest their reputations there, feeling certain that 
they could not succeed in the greater effort that was now 
exacted of them. The first three adventurers failed, all 
coming quite near the mark, but neither touching it. The 
fourth person who presented himself was the quartermaster, 
who, after going through the usual attitudes, so far suc- 
ceeded as to carry away a small portion of the head of the 
nail, planting his bullet by the side of its point. This was 
not considered an extraordinary shot, though it brought 
the adventurer within the category. 

“ You’ve saved your bacon, quartermaster, as they say 
in the settlements of their creatur’s,” cried Pathfinder, 
laughing, “ but it would take a long time to build a house 
with a hammer no better than yourn. Jasper, here, will 
show you how a nail is to be started, or the lad has lost 
some of his steadiness of hand and sartainty of eye. You 
would have done better yourself, lieutenant, had you not 
been so much bent on so’gerizing your figure. Shooting 
is a nat’ral gift, and is to be exercised in a nat’ral way.” 

“We shall see, Pathfinder; I call that a pretty attempt 
at a nail; and I doubt if the 55th has another hammer, as 
you call it, that can do just that same thing over again.” 

“Jasper is not in the 55th, but there goes his rap! ” 

As the Pathfinder spoke, the bullet of Eau-douce hit the 
nail square, and drove it into the target within an inch of 
the head. 

“Be all ready to clinch it, boys,” cried out Pathfinder, 
stepping into his friend’s tracks the instant they were va- 
cant. “Never mind a new nail; I can see that, though 
the paint is gone, and what I can see I can hit at a hun- 
dred yards, though it were only a mosquito’s eye. Be 
ready to clinch! ” 

The rifle cracked, the bullet sped its way, and the head 
of the nail was buried in the wood, covered by the piece 
of flattened lead. 

“Well, Jasper, lad,” continued Pathfinder, dropping the 
breech of his rifle to the ground, and resuming the dis- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


1 63 

course as if he thought nothing of his own exploit, “ you 
improve daily. A few more tramps on land, in my com- 
pany, and the best marksman on the frontiers will have 
occasion to look keenly when he takes his stand ag’in’ you. 
The quartermaster is respectable, but he will never get 
any further; whereas you, Jasper, have the gift, and may 
one day defy any who pull trigger. ” 

“Hoot — hoot!” exclaimed Muir, “do you call hitting 
the head of the nail respectable only, when it’s the per- 
fection of the art ? Any one in the least refined and ele- 
vated in sentiment knows that the delicate touches denote 
the master ; whereas your sledge-hammer blows come from 
the rude and uninstructed. If ‘a miss is as good as a 
mile,* a hit ought to be better, Pathfinder, whether it 
wound or kill. ” 

“ The surest way of settling this rivalry will be to make 
another trial,” observed Lundie, “and that will be of the 
potato. You’re Scotch, Mr. Muir, and might fare better 
were it a cake or a thistle; but frontier law has declared 
for the American fruit, and the potato it shall be.” 

As Major Duncan manifested some impatience of man- 
ner, Muir had too much tact to delay the sports any longer 
with his discursive remarks, but judiciously prepared him- 
self for the next appeal. To say the truth, the quarter- 
master had little or no faith in his own success in the trial 
of skill that was to follow, nor would he have been so free 
in presenting himself as a competitor at all, had he antici- 
pated it would have been made. But Major Duncan, who 
was somewhat of a humorist in his own quiet Scotch way, 
had secretly ordered it to be introduced expressly to mor- 
tify him; for a laird himself, Lundie did not relish the no- 
tion that one who might claim to be a gentleman should 
bring discredit to his caste by forming an unequal alliance. 
As soon as everything was prepared, Muir was summoned 
to the stand, and the potato was held in readiness to be 
thrown. As the sort of feat we are about to offer to the 
reader, however, may be new to him, a word in explana- 
tion will render the matter more clear. A potato of large 
size was selected, and given to one who stood at the dis- 
tance of twenty yards from the stand. At the word 
“Heave!” which was given by the marksman, the vege- 
table was thrown with a gentle toss into the air, and it was 


104 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the business of the adventurer to cause a ball to pass 
through it before it reached the ground. 

The quartermaster, in a hundred experiments, had once 
succeeded in accomplishing this difficult feat; but he now 
essayed to perform it again with a sort of blind hope that 
was fated to be disappointed. The potato was thrown in 
the usual manner, the rifle was discharged, but the flying 
target was untouched. 

“ To the right about, and fall out, quartermaster! ” said 
Lundie, smiling at the success of his own artifice — “ the 
honor of the silken calash will lie between Jasper Eau- 
douce and Pathfinder.” 

“ And how is the trial to end, major ? ” inquired the 
latter. “ Are we to have the two-potato trial, or is it to 
be settled by centre and skin ? ” 

“ By centre and skin, if there is any perceptible differ- 
ence; otherwise the double shot must follow.” 

“ This is an awful moment to me, Pathfinder,” observed 
Jasper, as he moved toward the stand, his face actually 
losing its color in intensity of feeling. 

Pathfinder gazed earnestly at the young man, and then, 
begging Major Duncan to have patience for a moment, he 
led his friend out of hearing of all near him before he 
spoke. 

“You seem to take this matter to heart, Jasper,” the 
hunter remarked, keeping his eyes fastened on those of 
the youth. 

“ I must own, Pathfinder, that my feelings were never 
before so much bound up in success.” 

“ And do you so much crave to outdo me, an old and 
tried friend ? — and that, as it might be, in my own way ? 
Shooting is my gift, boy, and no common hand can equal 
mine! ” 

“ I know it — I know it, Pathfinder — but — yet ” 

“But what, Jasper, boy? — speak freely; you talk to a 
friend.” 

The young man compressed his lips, dashed his hand 
across his eyes, and flushed and paled alternately, like a 
girl confessing her love. Then squeezing the other’s hand, 
he said calmly, like one whose manhood has overcome all 
other sensations: 

“ I would lose an arm, Pathfinder, to be able to make 
an offering of the calash to Mabel Dunham! ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


165 

The hunter dropped his eyes to the ground, and, as he 
walked slowly back toward the stand, he seemed to ponder 
deeply on what he had just heard. 

“ You never could succeed in the double trial, Jasper! ” 
he suddenly remarked. 

“ Of that I am certain, and it troubles me.” 

“ What a creature is mortal man! He pines for things 
which are not of his gift, and treats the bounties of Provi- 
dence lightly. No matter — no matter. Take your station, 
Jasper, for the major is waiting — and, harkee, lad — I must 
touch the skin, for I could not show my face in the garri- 
son with less than that/’ 

“ I suppose I must submit to my fate,” returned Jasper, 
flushing and losing his color, as before; ‘‘but I will make 
an effort if I die.” 

“What a thing is mortal man!” repeated Pathfinder, 
falling back to allow his friend room to take his aim ; “ he 
overlooks his own gifts, and craves them of another! ” 

The potato was thrown, Jasper fired, and the shout that 
followed preceded the announcement of the fact that he 
had driven his bullet through its centre, or so nearly so 
as to merit that award. 

“ Here is a competitor worthy of you, Pathfinder,” cried 
Major Duncan, with delight, as the former took his station, 
“ and we may look to some fine shooting in the double 
trial.” 

“What a thing is mortal man!” repeated the hunter, 
scarce seeming to notice what was passing around him, 
so much were his thoughts absorbed in his own reflections. 
“Toss.” 

The potato was tossed, the rifle cracked — it was re- 
marked just as the little black ball seemed stationary in 
the air, for the marksman evidently took unusual heed to 
his aim — and then a look of disappointment and wonder 
succeeded among those who caught the falling target. 

“ Two holes in one ? ” called out the major. 

“ The skin — the skin, ” was the answer : “ only the skin ! ” 

“ How’s this, Pathfinder ? Is Jasper Eau-douce to carry 
off the honors of the day ? ” 

“The calash is his,” returned the other, shaking his 
head, and walking quietly away from the stand. “ What 
a creature is a mortal man! Never satisfied with his 


i66 


THE PATHFINDER. 


own gifts, but forever craving that which Providence 
denies! ” 

As Pathfinder had not buried his bullet in the potato, 
but had cut through the skin, the prize was immediately 
adjudged to Jasper The calash was in the hands of the 
latter, when the quartermaster approached, and, with a 
politic air of cordiality, he wished his successful rival joy 
of his victory. 

“ But now you’ve got the calash, lad, it’s of no use to 
you,” he added; “it will never make a sail, nor even an 
ensign. I’m thinking, Eau-douce, you’d no be sorry to 
see its value in good silver of the king ? ” 

“Money cannot buy it, lieutenant,” returned Jasper, 
whose eye lighted up with all the fire of success and joy. 
“ I would rather have won this calash than have obtained 
fifty new suits of sails for the Scud!” 

“ Hoot — hoot — lad ! you are going mad like all the rest 
of them. I’d even venture to offer half a guinea for the 
trifle, rather than it should lie kicking about in the cabin 
of your cutter, and, in the end, become an ornament for 
the head of a squaw.” 

Although Jasper did not know that the wary quarter- 
master had not offered half the actual cost of the prize, 
he heard the proposition with indifference. Shaking his 
head in the negative, he advanced toward the stage, where 
his approach excited a little commotion, the officers’ ladies,, 
one and all, having determined to accept the present, 
should the gallantry of the young sailor induce him to 
offer it. But Jasper’s diffidence, no less than admiration 
for another, would have prevented him from aspiring to 
the honor of complimenting any whom he thought so much 
his superiors. 

“ Mabel,” he said, “ this prize is for you, unless ” 

“Unless what, Jasper?” answered the girl, losing her 
own bashfulness in the natural and generous wish to re- 
lieve his embarrassment, though both reddened in a way 
to betray strong feeling. 

“Unless you may think too indifferently of it, because 
it is offered by one who may have no right to believe his 
gift will be accepted.” 

“I do accept it, Jasper; and it shall be a sign of the 
danger I have passed in your company, and of the grati- 


THE PATHFINDER. l6^ 

iude I feel for youi care of me — your care, and that of the 
Pathfinder.” 

“Nevermind me, never mind me,” exclaimed the lat- 
ter; “this is Jasper’s luck and Jasper’s gift; give him full 
credit for both. My turn may come another day; mine 
and the quartermaster’s, who seems to grudge the boy the 
calash, though what he can want of it, I cannot under- 
stand, for he has no wife.” 

“And has Jasper Eau-douce a wife? Or have you a 
wife, yourself, Pathfinder? I may want it to help to get 
a wife, or as a memorial that I have had a wife, or as a 
proof how much I admire the sex, or because it is a female 
garment, or for some other equally respectable motive. 
It’s not the unreflecting that are the most prized by the 
thoughtful; and there is no surer sign that a man made a 
good husband to his first consort, let me tell you all, than 
to see him speedily looking around for a competent suc- 
cessor. The affections are good gifts from Providence, 
and they that have loved one faithfully, prove how much 
of this bounty has been lavished upon them by loving an- 
other as soon as possible.” 

“It may be so — it may be so; I am no practitioner in 
such things, and cannot gainsay it. But Mabel, here, the 
sergeant’s daughter, will give you full credit for the words. 
Come, Jasper, although our hands are out, let us see what 
the other lads can do with the rifle.” 

Pathfinder and his companions retired, for the sports 
were about to proceed. The ladies, however, were not so 
much engrossed with rifle-shooting as to neglect the calash. 
It passed from hand to hand ; the silk was felt, the fashion 
criticised, and the work examined, and divers opinions 
were privately ventured concerning the fitness of so hand- 
some a thing’s passing into the possession of a non-com- 
missioned officer’s child. 

“ Perhaps you will be disposed to sell that calash, Mabel, 
when it has been a short time in your possession ? ” in- 
quired the captain’s lady. “Wear it, I should think, you 
never can.” 

“I may not wear it, madam,” returned our heroine, 
modestly, “but I should not like to part with it, either.” 

“ I dare say Sergeant Dunham keeps you above the 
necessity of selling your clothes, child; but, at the same 


1 68 


THE PATHFINDER. 


time, it is money thrown away to keep an article of dress 
you can never wear.” 

“ I should be unwilling to part with the gift of a friend.” 

“ But the young man himself will think all the better of 
you for your prudence after the triumph of the day is for- 
gotten. It is a pretty and a becoming calash, and ought 
not to be thrown away.” 

“I’ve no intention to throw it away, ma’am, and, if you 
please, would rather keep it.” 

“As you will, child; girls of your age often overlook 
their read advantages. Remember, however, if you do 
determine to dispose of the thing, that it is bespoke, and 
that I will not take it if you ever even put it on your 
own head.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” said Mabel, in the meekest voice imag- 
inable, though her eyes looked like diamonds, and her 
cheeks reddened to the tints of two roses as she placed 
the forbidden garment over her well-turned shoulders, 
where she kept it a minute as if to try its fitness, and then 
quietly removed it again. 

The remainder of the sports offered nothing of interest. 
The shooting was reasonably good, but the trials were all 
of a scale lower than those related, and the competitors 
were soon left to themselves. The ladies and most of the 
officers withdrew, and the remainder of the females soon 
followed their example. Mabel was returning along the 
low flat rocks that line the shore of the lake, dangling her 
pretty calash from a prettier finger, when Pathfinder met 
her. He carried the rifle which he had used that day, but 
his manner had less of the frank ease of the hunter about 
it than usual, while his eyes seemed roving and uneasy. 
After a few unmeaning words concerning the noble sheet 
of water before them, he turned toward his companion, 
with strong interest in his countenance, and said : 

“Jasper earned that calash for you, Mabel, without 
much trial of his gifts.” 

“ It was fairly done, Pathfinder.” 

“ No doubt — no doubt. The bullet passed neatly through 
the potato, and no man could have done more, though 
others might have done as much.” 

“ But no one did as much! ” exclaimed Mabel, with an 
animation that she instantly regretted, for she saw by the 


THE PATHFINDER. 


169 


pained look of the guide that he was mortified equally by 
the remark and by the feeling with which it was uttered. 

“ It is true — it is true, Mabel, no one did as much then, 
but — yet, there is no reason I should deny my gifts which 
come from Providence — yes, yes; no one did as much 
there, but you shall know what can be done here. Do you 
observe the gulls that are flying over our heads ? ” 

“ Certainly, Pathfinder — there are too many to escape 
notice.” 

“ Here, where they cross each other in sailing about,” 
he added, cocking and raising his rifle — “ the two — the 
two — now look ! ” 

The piece was presented quick as thought as two of the 
birds came in a line, though distant from each other many 
yards; the report followed, and the bullet passed through 
the bodies of both the victims. No sooner had the gulls 
fallen into the lake, than Pathfinder dropped the breech 
of the rifle and laughed in his own peculiar manner, every 
shade of dissatisfaction and mortified pride having left his 
honest face. 

“ That is something, Mabel, that is something ; although 
I’ve no calash to give you! But ask Jasper himself; I’ll 
leave it all to Jasper, for a truer tongue and heart are not 
in America.” 

“ Then it was not Jasper’s fault that he gained the 
prize ? ” 

“ Not it. He did his best, and he did well. For one 
that has water gifts rather than land gifts, Jasper is on- 
commonly expart, and a better backer no one need wish, 
ashore or afloat. But it was my fault, Mabel, that he got 
the calash ; though it makes no difference — it makes no 
difference, the thing has gone to the right person.” 

“I believe I understand you, Pathfinder,” said Mabel, 
blushing in spite of herself, “ and I look upon the calash 
as the joint gift of yourself and Jasper.” 

“That would not be doing justice to the lad, neither. 
He won the garment, and had a right to give it away. 
The most you may think, Mabel, is to believe that, had I 
won it, it would have gone to the same person.” 

“ I will remember that, Pathfinder, and take care that 
others know your skill, as it has been proved upon the 
poor gulls in my presence/’ 


THE PATHFINDER. 


I70 

“ Lord bless you, Mabel, there is no more need of your 
talking in favor of my shooting, on this frontier, than of 
your talking about the water in the lake or the sun in the 
heavens. Everybody knows what I can do in that way, 
and your words would be thrown away, as much as French 
would be thrown away on an American bear/’ 

“ Then you think that Jasper knew you were giving him 
this advantage of which he has so unhandsomely availed 
himself ? ” said Mabel, the color which had imparted so 
much lustre to her eyes gradually leaving her face, which 
became grave and thoughtful. 

“ Ivdo not say that, but very far from it. We all forget 
things that we have known, when eager after our wishes. 
Jasper is satisfied that I can pass one bullet through two 
potatoes, as I sent my bullet through the gulls; and he 
knows no other man on the frontier can do the same thing. 
But, with the calash before his eyes, and the hope of giv- 
ing it to you, the lad was inclined to think better of him- 
self, just at that moment, perhaps, than he ought. No — - 
no — there’s nothing mean or distrustful about Jasper Eau- 
douce, 'though it is a gift, nat’ral to ail young men, to wish 
to appear well in the eyes of handsome young women.” 

“I’ll try to forget all but the kindness you’ve both 
shown to a poor motherless girl,” said Mabel, struggling 
to keep down emotions that she scarcely knew how to ac- 
count for herself. “ Believe me, Pathfinder, I can never 
forget all you have already done for me — you and Jasper 
— and this new proof of your regard is not thrown away. 
Here — here is a brooch that is of silver; I offer it as a 
token that I owe you life or liberty.” 

“ What shall I do with this, Mabel ? ” asked the bewil- 
dered hunter, holding the simple trinket in his hand. “ I 
have neither buckle nor button about me, for I wear nothing 
but leather strings, and them of good deer-skins. It’s 
pretty to the eye, but it’s prettier far on the spot it came 
from than it can be about me.” 

“Nay, put it in your hunting-shirt; it will become it 
well. Remember, Pathfinder, that it is a token of friend- 
ship between us, and a sign that I can never forget you 
or your services.” 

Mabel then smiled an adieu, and, bounding up the bank, 
she was soon lost to view behind the mound of the fort. 


THE PATHFINDER, 


* 7 * 


CHAPTER XII 


u Lo ! dusky masses steal in dubious sight 

Along the leaguered wall and bristling bank 
Of the armed river; while with straggling light 

The stars weep through the vapor, dim and dank.” 

— Byron. 

A few hours later, Mabel Dunham was on the bastion 
that overlooked the river and the lake, seemingly in deep 
thought. The evening was calm and soft, and the ques- 
tion has arisen whether the party for the Thousand Islands 
would be able to get out that night or not, on account of 
the total absence of wind. The stores, arms, and ammu- 
nition were already shipped, and even Mabel’s effects 
were on board; but the small draft of men that \^ere to go 
were still ashore, there being no apparent prospect of the 
cutter’s getting under way. Jasper had warped the Scud 
out of the cove, and so far up the stream as to enable 
him to pass through the outlet of the river whenever he 
chose; but there he still lay, riding at single anchor. The 
drafted men were lounging about the shore of the cove, 
undecided whether or not to pull off. 

The sports of the morning had left a quiet in the garri- 
son that was in harmony with the whole of the beautiful 
scene, and Mabel felt its influence on her feeling, though 
probably too little accustomed to speculate on such sensa- 
tions to be aware of the cause. Everything near appeared 
lovely and soothing, while the solemn grandeur of the 
silent forest and placid expanse of the lake lent a sub- 
limity that other scenes might have wanted. For the first 
time, Mabel felt the hold that the towns and civilization 
had gained on her habits sensibly weakened, and the 
warm-hearted girl began to think that a life passed amid 
objects such as these around her might be happy. How 
far the experience of the last ten days came in aid of the 
calm and holy eventide, and contributed toward produc- 


172 


THE PATHFINDER. 


in g that young conviction, may be suspected rather than 
affirmed in this early portion of our legend. 

“ A charming sunset, Mabel,” said the hearty voice of 
her uncle, so close to the ear of our heroine as to cause 
her to start — “ a charming sunset, girl, for a fresh-water 
concern, though we should think but little of it at sea.” 

“ And is not nature the same on shore or at sea, on a 
lake like this or on the ocean ? Does not the sun shine 
on all alike, dear uncle, and can we not feel gratitude for 
the blessings of Providence as strongly on this remote 
frontier as in our own Manhattan ? ” 

“ The girl has fallen in with some of her mother’s books 
— though I should think the sergeant would scarcely make 
a second march with such trumpery among his baggage. 
Is not nature the same, indeed! Now, Mabel, do you 
imagine that the nature of a soldier is the same as that of 
a seafaring man ? You’ve relations in both callings, and 
ought to be able to answer.” 

“ But, uncle, I mean human nature ” 

“ So do I, girl — the human nature of a seaman, and the 
human nature of one of these fellows of the 55th, not even 
excepting your own father. Here have they had a shoot- 
ing-match — target-firing I should call it — this day, and 
what a different thing has it been from a target-firing 
afloat! There we should have sprung our broadside, 
sported with round shot, at an object half a mile off at 
the very nearest; and the potatoes, if there happened to 
be any on board, as quite likely would not have been the 
case, would have been left in the cook’s coppers. It may 
be an honorable calling, that of a soldier, Mabel, but an 
experienced hand sees many follies and weaknesses in one 
of these forts. As for that bit of lake, you know my 
opinion of it already, and I wish to disparage nothing. 
No real seafarer disparages anything; but d e if I re- 

gard this here Ontario, as they call it, as more than so 
much water in a ship’s scuttled-butt. Now, look you 
here, Mabel, if you wish to understand the difference 
between the ocean and a lake, I can make you compre- 
hend it with a single look : this is what one may call a 
calm, seeing that there is no wind; though, to own the 
truth, I do not think the calms are as calm as them we 
get outside ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


173 


“Uncle, there is not a breath of air! I do not think it 
possible for the leaves to be more immovably still than 
those of the entire forest are at this very moment.” 

“Leaves! what are leaves, child ? there are no leaves 
at sea. If you wish to know whether it is a dead calm or 
not, try a mold candle — your dips flaring too much — and 
then you may be certain whether there is or not any wind. 
If you were in a latitude where the air was so still that 
you found a difficulty in stirring it to draw it in, in breath- 
ing, you might fancy it a calm. People are often on a 
short allowance of air in the calm latitudes. Here, again, 
look at that water! It is like milk in a pan, with no more 
motion now than there is in a full hogshead before the 
bung is started. On the ocean the water is never still, let 
the air be as quiet as it may.” 

“The water of the ocean never still, Uncle Cap! — not 
even in calm ? ” 

“ Bless your heart, no, child. The ocean breathes like 
a living being, and its bosom is always heaving, as the 
poetizers call it, though there be no more air than is to be 
found in a siphon. No man ever saw the ocean still like 
this lake; but it heaves and sets as if it had lungs.” 

“ And this lake is not absolutely still, for you perceive 
there is a little ripple on the shore, and you may even hear 
the surf plunging at moments against the rocks.” 

“All d d poetry! One may call a bubble a ripple 

if he will, and washing decks a surf ; but Lake Ontario is 
no more the Atlantic than a Powles Hook periagua is a 
first-rate. That Jasper, notwithstanding, is a fine lad, and 
wants instruction only to make a man of him ! ” 

“ Do you think him ignorant, uncle ? ” answered Mabel, 
prettily adjusting her hair, in order to do which she was 
obliged, or fancied she was obliged, to turn away her face. 
“To me Jasper Eau-douce appears to know more than 
most of the young men of his class. He has read but 
little, for books are not plenty in this part of the world, 
but he has thought much, at least so it seems to me, for 
one so young.” 

“ He is ignorant, he is ignorant, as all must be who 
navigate an inland water like this. He can make a flat- 
knot and a timber-hitch, it is true; but he has no more 
notion of crowning a cable, now, or of a carrickbend, than 


174 


THE PATHFINDER. 


you have of catting an anchor. No — no, Mabel; we both 
owe something to Jasper and the Pathfinder, and I have 
been thinking how I can best serve them, for I hold in- 
gratitude to be the vice of a hog. Some people say it is 
the vice of a king; but I say it is the failing of a hog; for, 
treat the animal to your own dinner, and he would eat you 
for the dessert.” 

“Very true, dear uncle, and we ought indeed to do all 
we can to express our proper sense of the services of both 
these brave men.” 

“ Spoken like your mother’s daughter, girl, and in a way 
to do credit to the Cap family. Now, I’ve hit upon a 
traverse that will just suit all parties, and as soon as we 
get back from this little expedition down the lake, among 
them there Thousand Islands, and I am ready to return, 
it is my intention to propose it.” 

“ Dearest uncle ! this is so considerate in you, and will 
be so just! May I ask what your intentions are ? ” 

“ I see no reason for keeping them a secret from you, 
Mabel, though nothing need be said to your father about 
them, for the sergeant has his prejudices, and might throw 
difficulties in the way. Neither Jasper nor his friend, 
Pathfinder, can ever make anything hereabouts, and I 
propose to take both with me down to the coasts, and get 
them fairly afloat. Jasper would find his sea-legs in a 
fortnight and a twelvemonth’s v’y’ge would make him a 
man. Although Pathfinder might take more time, or never 
get to be rated able, yet one could make something of 
him too, particularly as a lookout, for he has unusually 
good eyes.” 

“Uncle, do you think either would consent to this?” 
said Mabel, smiling. 

“ Do I suppose them simpletons ? What rational being 
would neglect his own advancement ? Let Jasper alone to 
push his way, and the lad may yet die the master of some 
square-rigged craft.” 

“ And would he be any the happier for it, dear uncle ? 
How much better is it to be the master of a square-rigged 
craft than to be master of a round-rigged craft ? ” 

“ Pooft-pooh, Magnet! you are just fit to read lectures 
about ships before some hysterical society ; you don’t know 
ivhat you are talking about; leave these things to me, and 


THE PATHFINDER. 


275 


they’ll be properly managed. Ah! here is the Pathfinder 
himself, and I may just as well drop him a hint of my 
benevolent intentions as regards himself. Hope is a great 
encourager of our exertions.” 

Cap nodded his head, and then ceased to speak while 
the hunter approached, not with his usual frank and easy 
manner, but in a way to show that he was slightly embar- 
rassed, if not distrustful of his reception. 

“ Uncle and niece make a family party,” said Pathfinder, 
when near the two, “ and a stranger may not prove a wel- 
come companion.” 

“You are no stranger, Master Pathfinder,” returned 
Cap, “ and no one can be more welcome than yourself. 
We were talking of you but a moment ago; and when 
friends speak of an absent man, he can guess what they 
have said t ” 

“ I ask no secrets— X ask no secrets. Every man has 
his enemies, and I have mine, though X count neither you, 
Master Cap, nor pretty Mabel, there, among the number. 
As for the Mingoes, I will say nothing; though they have 
no just cause to hate me.” 

“That I’ll answer for, Pathfinder, for you strike my 
fancy as being well disposed and upright. There is a 
method, however, of getting away from the enmity of even 
these Mingoes, and, if you choose to take it, no one will 
more willingly point it out than myself, without a charge 
for my advice, either.” 

“ I wish no inemies, Salt-water ” — for so the Pathfinder 
begun to call Cap, having, insensibly to himself, adopted 
the term by translating the name given him by the Indians 
in and about the fort — “ I wish no inemies. I’m as ready 
to bury the hatchet with the Mingoes as with the French, 
though you know it depends on one greater than either of 
us to turn the heart as to leave a man without inemies.” 

“ By lifting your anchor and accompanying me down to 
the coasts, friend Pathfinder, when we get back from this 
short cruise on which we are bound, you will find yourself 
beyond the sound of the war-whoop, and safe enough from 
the Indian bullet.” 

“ And what should I do on the salt water ? Hunt in 
your towns! Follow the trail of people going and coming 
from market, and ambush dogs and poultry! You are no 


176 


THE PATHFINDER. 


friend to my happiness, Cap, if you would lead me out of 
the shades of the woods, to put me in the sun of the cleai- 
in’s! ” 

“ I did not propose to leave you in the settlements, Path- 
finder, but to carry you out to sea, where only a man 
can be said to breathe freely. Mabel will tell you that 
such was my intention before a word was said on the sub- 
ject. ” 

“ And what does Mabel think would come of such a 
change ? She knows that a man has his gifts, and that it 
is as useless to pretend to others, as to withstand them 
that come from Providence. I am a hunter, and a scout, 
or a guide, Salt-water, and it is not in me to fly so much 
in the face of Heaven as to try to become anything else. 
Am I right, Mabel, or are you so much of a woman as to 
wish to see a natur’ altered ? ” 

“I would wish to see no change in you, Pathfinder,” 
Mabel answered, with a cordial sincerity and frankness 
that went directly to the hunter’s heart; “and much as 
my uncle admires the sea, and great as is all the good that 
he thinks may come of it, I could not wish to see the best 
and noblest hunter of the woods transformed into an ad- 
miral. Remain what you are, my brave friend, and you 
need fear nothing short of the anger of God.” 

“ Do you hear this, Salt-water ? Do you hear what the 
sergeant’s daughter is saying ? And she is much too up- 
right and fair-minded and pretty not to think what she 
says. So long as she is satisfied with me as I am, I shall 
not fly in the face of the gifts of Providence by striving 
to become anything else. I may seem useless here in a 
garrison, but when we get down among the Thousand 
Islands there may be an opportunity to prove that a sure 
rifle is sometimes a godsend.” 

“You are, then, to be of our party ? ” said Mabel, smil- 
ing so frankly and so sweetly on the guide that he would 
have followed her to the end of the earth. “ I shall be 
the only female, with the exception of one soldier’s wife, 
and shall feel none the less secure, Pathfinder, because 
you will be among our protectors.” 

“ The sergeant would do that, Mabel, the sergeant would 
do that, though you were not of his kin. No one will over- 
look you. I should think your uncle, here, wo v 1 * ?ike ax* 


THE PATHFINDER. 1 77 

expedition of this sort, where we shall go with sails, and 
have a look at an inland sea ? ” 

“ Your inland sea is no great matter, Pathfinder, and I 
expect nothing from it. I confess, however, I should like 
to know the object of the cruise, for one does not wish to 
be idle, and my brother-in-law, the sergeant, is as close- 
mouthed as a Freemason. Do you know, Mabel, what all 
this means ? ” 

“Not in the least, uncle. I dare not ask my father 
any questions about his duty, for he thinks it is not a wo- 
man’s business; and all I can say is that we are to sail as 
soon as the wind will permit, and that we are to be absent 
a month.” 

“ Perhaps Master Pathfinder can give me a useful hint, 
for a v’y’ge without an object is never pleasant to an old 
sailor.” 

“ There is no great secret, Salt-water, concerning our 
port and object, though it is forbidden to talk much about 
either in the garrison. I am no soldier, however, and can 
use my tongue as I please, though as little given as an- 
other to idle conversation, I hope ; still, as we sail so soon, 
and you are both to be of the party, you may as well be 
told where you are to be carried. You know that there 
are such things as the Thousand Islands, I suppose, Mas- 
ter Cap ? ” 

“ Ay, what are so called here-away, though I take it for 
granted that they are not real islands, such as we fall in 
with on the ocean ; and that the thousand means some such 
matter as two or three, like the killed and wounded of a 
great battle.” 

“ My eyes are good, yet I have often been foiled in 
trying to count them very islands.” 

“Ay — ay — I’ve known people who couldn’t count be- 
yond a certain number. Your real landbirds never know 
their own roost, even in a landfall at sea; they are what I 
call all things to all men. How many times have I seen 
the beach, and houses and churches, when the passengers 
have not been able see anything but water! I have no 
idea that man can get fairly out of sight of land on fresh 
water. The thing appears to me to be irrational and 
impossible.” 

“You don’t know the lakes, Master Cap, or you would 
12 ' 


THE PATHFINDER. 


¥78 

not say that. Before we get to the Thousand Islands, you 
will have other notions of what natur’ has done in this 
wilderness.” 

“ I have my doubts whether you have such a thing as a 
real island in all this region. To my notion, fresh water 
can’t make a bony-fidy island; not what / call an island.” 

“ We’ll show you hundreds of them — not exactly a thou- 
sand, perhaps, but so many that eye cannot see them all, 
or tongue count them.” 

“ And what sort of things may they be ? ” 

“ Land with water entirely around them.” 

“ Ay, but what sort of land, and what sort of water ? 
I’ll engage, when the truth comes to be known, they’ll 
turn out to be nothing but peninsulas, or promontories, or 
continents; though these are matters, I dare say, of which 
you know little or nothing. But islands or no islands, 
what is the object of the cruise, Master Pathfinder ? ” 

“ Why, as you are the sergeant’s brother, and pretty 
Mabel here is his da’hter, and we are all to be of the 
party, there can be no harm in giving you some idea of 
what we are going to do. Being so old a sailor, Master 
Cap, you’ve heard, no doubt, of such a port as Fronte- 
nac ? ” 

“Who hasn’t ? I will not say I’ve ever been inside the 
harbor, but I’ve frequently been off the place.” 

“ Then you are about to go upon ground with which you 
are acquainted, though how you could ever have got there 
from the ocean I do not understand. These great lakes, 
you must know, make a chain, the water passing out of 
one into the other, until it reaches Erie, which is a sheet 
off here to the westward, as large as Ontario itself. Well, 
out of Erie the water comes, until it reaches a low moun- 
tain like, over the edge of which it passes ” 

“ I should like to know how the devil it can do that ? ” 

“ Why, easy enough, Master Cap,” returned Pathfinder, 
laughing, “ seeing that it has only to fall down hill. Had 
I said the water went up the mountain, there would have 
been natur* ag’in* it; but we hold it no great matter for 
water to run down hill — that is, fresh water.” 

“ Ay — ay — but you speak of the water of a lake’s com- 
ing down the side of a mountain ; it is in the teeth of rea- 
son, if reason has any teeth.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


179 


M Well— well- — we will not dispute the point; but what 
I’ve seen I’ve seen; as for reason’s having any teeth, I’ll 
say nothing, but conscience has, and sharp ones, too. 
After getting into Ontario, all the water of all the lakes 
passes down into the sea by a river; and in the narrow part 
of the sheet, where it is neither river nor lake, lie the 
islands spoken of. Now, Frontenac is a post of the 
Frenchers above the same islands; and as they hold 
the garrison below, their stores and ammunition are sent 
up the river to Frontenac to be forwarded along the shores 
of this and the other lakes, in order to enable the enemy 
to play his deviltries among the savages and to take Chris- 
tian scalps.” 

“ And will our presence prevent these horrible acts ? ” 
demanded Mabel, with interest. 

“ It may or it may not, as Providence wills. Lundie, 
as they call him, he who commands this garrison, sent a 
party down to take a station among the islands, to cut oft; 
some of the French boats; and this expedition of ours will 
be the second relief. As yet they’ve not done much, 
though two batteaux loaded with Indian goods have been 
taken; but a runner came in last week and brought such 
tidings that the major is about to make a last effort to 
sarcumvent the knaves. Jasper knows the way, and we 
shall be in good hands, for the sergeant is prudent, and 
of the first quality at an ambushment — yes, he is both 
prudent and alert.” 

“ Is this all ? ” said Cap, contemptuously; “ by the prep- 
arations and equipments, I had thought there was a forced 
trade in the wind, and that an honest penny might be 
turned by taking an adventure. I suppose there are no 
shares in your fresh-water prize-money ? ” 

“ Anan ? ” 

“ I take it for granted the king gets all in these sober- 
ing parties and ambushments, as you call them ? ” 

“ I know nothing about that, Master Cap. I take my 
share of the lead and powder, if any falls into our hands, 
and say nothing to the king about it. If any one fares 
better, it is not I — though it is time I did begin to think of 
a house and furniture and a home.” 

Although the Pathfinder did not dare to look at Mabel 
while he made this direct allusion to his change of life, he 


l8o the pathfinder. 

would have given the world to know whether she were 
listening, and what was the expression of her countenance. 
Mabel little suspected the nature of the allusion, however; 
and her countenance was perfectly unembarrassed, as she 
turned her eyes toward the river, where the appearance of 
some movement on board the Scud began to be visible. 

“ Jasper is bringing the cutter out,” observed the guide, 
whose look was drawn in the same direction, by the fall 
of some heavy article on the deck. “ The lad sees the 
signs of wind, no doubt, and wishes to be ready for it.” 

“ Ay, and now we shall have an opportunity of learning 
seamanship,” returned Cap, with a sneer. “There is a 
nicety in getting a craft under her canvas, that shows the 
thoroughbred mariner as much as anything else. It’s like 
a so’ger buttoning his coat, and one can see whether he 
begins at the top or the bottom.” 

“I will not say that Jasper is equal to your seafarers 
below,” observed Pathfinder, across whose upright mind 
an unworthy feeling of envy or jealousy never passed; 
“but he is a bold boy, and manages his cutter as skilfully 
as any man can desire, on this lake at least. You didn’t 
find him backward at the Oswego Falls, Master Cap, where 
fresh water contrives to tumble down hill with little diffi- 
culty. ” 

Cap made no other answer than a dissatisfied ejacula- 
tion, and then a general silence followed, all on the bastion 
studying the movements of the cutter with the interest 
that was natural to their own future connection with the 
vessel. It was still a dead calm, the surface of the lake 
literally glittering with the last rays of the sun. The 
Scud had been warped up to a kedge that lay a hundred 
yards above the points of the outlet, where she had room 
to manoeuvre in the river which then formed the harbor of 
Oswego. But the total want of air prevented any such 
attempt, and it was soon evident that the light vessel was 
to be taken through the passage under her sweeps. Not 
a sail was loosened, but as soon as the kedge was tripped, 
the heavy fall of the sweeps was heard, when the cutter, 
with her head up stream, began to sheer toward the centre 
of the current; on reaching which, the efforts of the men 
ceased, and she drifted toward the outlet. In the narrow 
pass itself her movement was rapid, and in less than five 


THE PATHFINDER. 


181 

minutes the Scud was floating outside of the low gravelly 
points tnat intercepted the waves of the lake. No anchor 
was let go, but the vessel continued to set off from the 
land, until her dark hull was seen resting on the glassy 
surface of the lake, fully a quarter of a mile beyond the 
low bluff which formed the eastern extremity of what 
might be called the outer harbor or roadstead. Here 
the influence of the river current ceased, and she became 
virtually stationary. 

“She seems very beautiful to me, uncle, ” said Mabel, 
whose gaze had not been averted from the cutter for a 
single moment while it had been thus changing its posi- 
tion; “ I dare say you can find faults in her appearance 
and in the way she is managed ; but to my ignorance both 
are perfect! ” 

“ Ay — ay — she drops down with the current well enough, 
girl, and so would a chip. But when you come to niceties, 
an old tar like myself has no need of spectacles to find 
fault.” 

“Well, Master Cap,” put in the guide, who seldom 
heard anything to Jasper’s prejudice without manifesting 
a disposition to interfere, “ I’ve heard old and experienced 
salt-water mariners confess that the Scud is as pretty a 
craft as floats. I know nothing of such matters myself, 
but one may have his own notions about a ship, even 
enough they be wrong notions; and it would take more 
than one witness to persuade me Jasper does not keep his 
boat in good order.” 

“ I do not say the cutter is downright lubberly, Master 
Pathfinder; but she has faults, and great faults.” 

“And what are they, uncle ? If he knew them, Jasper 
would be glad to mend them.” 

“What are they? Why, fifty; ay, for that matter, a 
hundred. Very material and manifest faults.” 

“ Do name them, sir, and Pathfinder will mention them 
to his friend.” 

“ Name them ? It is no easy matter to call off the stars, 
for the simple reason that they are so numerous. Name 
them, indeed! Why, my pretty niece, Miss Magnet, what 
do you think of that main boom now ? To my ignorant 
eyes, it is topped at least a foot too high; and then, the 
pennant is foul; and — and — ay, d — e if there isn't a top- 


i32 


THE PATHFINDER. 


sail gaskit adrift — and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if 
there snould prove to be a round turn in that hawser, if 
the keoge were to be let go this instant! Faults, indeed! 
No seaman could look at her a moment without seeing that 
she is as full of faults as a servant that has asked for his 
discharge.” 

“ This may be very true, uncle, though I much question 
if Jasper knows of them. I do not think he would suffer 
these things, Pathfinder, if they were pointed out to him.” 

“Let Jasper manage his own cutter, Mabel; let him 
manage his own cutter. His gifts lie that-away, and, I’ll 
answer for it, no one can teach him how to keep the Scud 
out of the hands of the Frontenackers or their devilish 
Mingo fri’nds. Who cares for round turns in hedges, and 
for hawsers that are topped too high, Master Cap, so long 
as the craft sails well and keeps clear of the Frenchers ? 
I will trust Jasper against all the seafarers of the coast up 
here on the Lakes — but I do not say he has any gift for 
the ocean, for there he has never been tried.” 

Cap smiled condescendingly, but he did not think it 
necessary to push his criticisms any further just at that 
moment. His air and manner gradually became more 
supercilious and lofty, though he now wished to seem in- 
different to any discussions on points of which one of the 
parties was entirely ignorant. By this time the cutter had 
begun to drift at the mercy of the currents of the lake, 
her head turning in all d-irections, though slowly, and not 
in a way to attract particular attention. Just at this mo- 
ment the jib was loosened and hoisted, and. presently the 
canvas swelled toward the land, though no evidences of air 
were yet to be seen on the surface of the water. Slight, 
however, as was the impulsion, the light hull yielded, and 
in another minute the Scud was seen standing across the 
current of the river, with a movement so easy and mode- 
rate as to be scarcely perceptible. When out of the stream, 
she struck an eddy, and shot up toward the land, under 
the eminence where the fort stood, when Jasper dropped 
his kedge. 

“ Not lubberly done,” muttered Cap, in a sort of soldo- 
quy, “ not over-lubberly, though he should have put his 
helm a-starboard instead of a-port, for the vessel ought 
always to come-to with her head off-shore, whether she is 


THE PATHFINDER. 


183 

a league from the land or only a cable’s length, since it 
has a careful look ; and looks are something in this world. ” 
“Jasper is a handy lad,” suddenly observed Sergeant 
Dunham, at his brother-in-law’s elbow; “and we place 
great reliance on his skill in our expeditions. But, come, 
one and all; we have but half an hour more of daylight 
to embark in, and the boats will be ready for us by the 
time we are ready for them.” 

On this intimation the whole party separated, each to 
find those trifles which had not been shipped already. A 
.ew taps of the drum gave the necessary signal to the sol- 
diers, and in a minute all ware in motion. 


CHAPTER XIII. 

u The goblin now the fool alarms, 

Hags meet to mumble o’er their charms, 

The nightmare rides the dreaming ass, 

And fairies trip it on the grass.” — Cotton. 

The embarkation of so small a party was matter of no 
great delay and embarrassment. The whole force con- 
fided to the care of Sergeant Dunham consisted of but ten 
privates and two non-commissioned officers, though it was 
soon positively known that Mr. Muir was to accompany 
the expedition. The quartermaster, however, went as a 
volunteer, while some duty connected with his own de- 
partment. as had been arranged between him and his com- 
mander, was the avowed object. To these must be added 
the Pathfinder and Cap, with Jasper and his subordinates, 
one of whom was a boy. The males of the eptire party, 
consequently, consisted of less than twenty men and a lad 
of fourteen. Mabel and the wife of a common soldier 
were the only females. 

Sergeant Dunham carried off his command in a large 
batteau, and then returned for his final orders, and to see 
that his brother-in-law and daughter were properly at- 
tended to. Having pointed out to Cap the boat that he 
and Mabel were to use, he ascended the hill, to seek his 
last in f — view with Lundie. The major was on the bastion 


i8 4 


THE PATHFINDER. 


so often mentioned ; leaving him and the sergeant together 
for a short time, we will return to the beach. 

It was nearly dark when Mabel found herself in the boat 
that was to carry her off to the cutter. So very smooth 
was the surface of the lake that it was not found neces- 
sary to bring the batteaux into the river to receive their 
freights, but the beach outside being totally without surf, 
and the water as tranquil as that of a pond, everybody 
embarked there. As Cap had said, there was no heaving 
and setting, no working of vast lungs, nor any respiration, 
of an ocean; for, on Ontario, unlike the Atlantic, gales 
were not agitating the element at one point, while calms 
prevailed at another. This the distances did not permit; 
and it is the usual remark of mariners that the sea gets up 
faster and goes down sooner on all the great lakes of the 
West than on the different seas of their acquaintance. 
When the boat left the land, therefore, Mabel would not 
have known that she was afloat on so broad a sheet of 
water, by any movement that is usual to such circum- 
stances. The oars had barely time to give a dozen strokes, 
when the boat lay at the cutter’s side. 

Jasper was in readiness to receive his passengers, and, 
as the deck of the Scud was but two or three feet above 
the water, no difficulty was experienced in getting on 
board her. As soon as this was effected, the young man 
pointed out to Mabel and her companion the accommoda- 
tions prepared for their reception, and they took possession 
of them. The little vessel contained four apartments be- 
low, all between-decks having been expressly constructed 
with a view to the transportation of officers and men, with 
their wives and families. First in rank was what was 
called the after cabin, a small apartment that contained 
four berths, and which enjoyed the advantage of possess- 
ing small windows for the admission of air and light. 
This was uniformly devoted to females whenever any were 
on board ; and, as Mabel and her companion were alone, 
they had ample space and accommodation. The main- 
cabin was larger, and lighted from above. It was now 
appropriated to the uses of the quartermaster, the ser- 
geant, Cap, and Jasper; the Pathfinder roaming through 
any part of the cutter he pleased, the female apartment 
exce ed. The corporals and common soldier^ occupied 


THE PATHFINDER. 


i*5 

the space between the main hatch, which had a deck for 
such a purpose; while the crew were berthed, as usual, in 
the forecastle. Although the cutter did not measure quite 
fifty tons, the draft of officers and men was so light that 
there was ample room for all on board, there being space 
enough to accommodate treble the number if necessary. 

As soon as Mabel had taken possession of her own really 
comfortable and pretty cabin, in doing which she could 
not abstain from indulging in the pleasant reflection that 
some of Jasper’s favor had been especially manifested in 
her behalf, she went on deck again. Here all was mo- 
mentarily in motion; the men were roving to and fro, in 
quest of their knapsacks and other effects; but method 
and habit soon reduced things to order, when the stillness 
on board became even imposing, for it was connected with 
the idea of future adventure and ominous preparation. 

Darkness was now beginning to render objects on shore 
indistinct, the whole of the land forming one shapeless, 
black outline of even forest-summits, that was to be dis- 
tinguished from the impending heavens only by the greater 
light of the sky. The stars, however, soon began to ap- 
pear in the latter, one after another, in their usual mild, 
placid lustre, bringing with them that sense of quiet which 
ordinarily accompanies night. There was something sooth- 
ing as well as exciting in such a scene: and Mabel, who 
was seated on the quarter-deck, sensibly felt both influ- 
ences. The Pathfinder was standing near her, leaning, as 
usual, on his long rifle, and she fancied that, through the 
growing darkness of the hour, she could trace even stronger 
lines of thought than were usual in his rugged countenance. 

“To you, Pathfinder, expeditions like this can be no 
great novelty,” she said, “though I am surprised to find 
how silent and thoughtful the men appear to be.” 

“We l’arn this by making war ag’in Injuns. Your 
militia are great talkers and little doers, in gin’ral; but 
the soger who has often met the Mingoes Tarns to know 
the valie of a prudent tongue. A silent army in the 
woods is doubly strong, and a noisy one doubly weak. 
If tongues made soldiers, the women of a camp would 
generally carry the day.” 

“ But we are neither an army nor in the wood^ There 
can be no danger of Mingoes in the Scud. ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


1 86 

“ Ask Jasper how he got to be master of this cutter, and 
you will find yourself answered as to that opinion! No 
one is sate from a Mingo who doesn’t understand his very 
natur’ : and even then must act up to his own knowledge, 
and that closely. Ask Jasper how he got command o£ 
this very cutter! ” 

“ And how did he get the command ? ” inquired Mabel, 
with an earnestness and interest that delighted her simple- 
minded and true-hearted companion, who was never better 
pleased than when he had an opportunity of saying aught 
in favor of a friend. “ It is honorable to him that he has 
reached this station while yet so young.” 

“ That it is — but he deserved it all, and more. A frigate 
wouldn’t have been too much to pay for so much spirit 
and coolness, had there been such a thing on Ontario, as 
there is not, howsever, or likely to be.” 

“ But Jasper — you have not yet told me how he got the 
command of the schooner ? ” 

“ It is a long story, Mabel, and one your father, the 
sergeant, can tell much better than I, for he was present, 
while I was off on a distant scoutin’. Jasper is not good 
at a story, I will own that; I’ve heard him questioned 
about this affair, and he never made a good tale of it, al- 
though everybody knows it was a good thing. No — no — 
Jasper is not good at a story, as his best friends must 
own. The Scud had near fallen into the hands of the 
French and the Mingoes when Jasper saved her, in a way 
that none but a quick-witted mind and a bold heart would 
have attempted. The sergeant will tell the tale better 
than I can, and I wish you to question him some day when 
nothing better offers. As for Jasper himself, there will be 
no use in worrying the lad, since he will make a bungling 
matter of it, for he don’t know how to give a history at 
all.” 

Mabel determined to ask her father to repeat the inci- 
dents of the affair that very night, for it struck her young 
fancy that nothing better could well offer than to listen to 
the praises of one who was a bad historian of his own ex- 
ploits. 

“ Will the Scud remain with us when we reach the isl- 
and ? ” she asked, after a little hesitation about the pro- 
priety of the question, “ or shall we be left to ourselves ? ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


I8 7 


“That s as may be. Jasper does not often keep the 
cutter idle when anything is to be done, and we may ex- 
pect activity on his part. My gifts, howsever, run so little 
toward the water, and vessels gin’ rally, unless it be among 
rapids and falls, and in canoes, that I pretend to know 
nothing about it. We shall have all right under Jasper, I 
make no doubt, who can find a trail on Ontario as well as 
a Delaware can find one on the land.” 

44 And our own Delaware, Pathfinder — the Big Serpent 
— why is he not with us to-night ? ” 

“Your question would have been more nat’ral had you 
said, 4 Why ar e, you here, Pathfinder ? ’ The Sarpent is in 
his place, while I am not in mine. He is out with two or 
three more scouting the lake shores, and will join us down 
among the islands with the tidings he may gather. The 
sergeant is too good a soldier to forget his rear while he 
is facing the inemy in front! It’s a thousand pities, Mabel, 
your father wasn’t born a gin’ral, as some of the English 
are who come among us, for I feel sartain he wouldn’t 
leave a Frencher in the Canadas a week could he have 
his own way with them.” 

44 Shall we have enemies to face in front ? ” asked Mabel, 
smiling, and for the first time feeling a slight apprehension 
about the dangers of the expedition. 44 Are we likely to 
have an engagement ? ” 

44 If we have, Mabel, there will be men enough ready 
and willing to stand atween you and harm. But you are 
a soldier’s daughter, and we all know have the spirit of 
one. Don’t let the fear of battle keep your pretty eyes 
from sleeping.” 

44 1 do feel braver out here in the woods, Pathfinder, than 
I ever felt before amid the weaknesses of the towns, al- 
though I have always tried to remember what I owe to 
my dear father.” 

44 Ay, your mother was so before you! ‘You will find 
Mabel, like her mother, no screamer or faint-hearted girl 
to trouble a man in his need, but one who would encourage 
her mate, and help to keep his heart up when sorest pressed 
by danger, ’ said the sergeant to me, before I ever laid 
eyes on that beautiful countenance of yours — he did! ” 

44 And why should my father have told you this, Path- 
finder ? ” the girl demanded, a little earnestly. 44 Perhaps 


1 88 


THE PATHFINDER. 


he fancied you would think the better of me if you did 
not believe me a silly coward, as so many of my sex love 
to make themselves appear.” 

Deception, unless it were at the expense of his enemies 
in the field — nay, concealment of even a thought — was so 
little in accordance with the Pathfinder’s very nature, that 
he was not a little embarrassed by this simple question. 
To own the truth openly, he felt, by a sort of instinct for 
which it would have puzzled him to account, would not be 
proper; and to hide it, agreed with neither his sense of 
right nor his habits. In such a strait, he involuntarily 
took refuge in a middle course, not revealing that which 
he fancied ought not to be told, nor yet absolutely con- 
cealing it. 

“You must know, Mabel,” he said, “that the sergeant 
and I are old friends, and have stood side by side — or, if 
not actually side by side, I a little in advance, as became 
a scout, and your father with his own men, as better suited 
a soldier of the king — on many a hard-fought and bloody 
day. It’s the way of us skirmishers to think little of the 
fight when the rifle has done cracking, and at night, around 
our fires, or on our marches, we talk of things we love, 
just as you young women converse about your fancies and 
opinions, when you get together to laugh over your idees. 
Now it was natural that the sergeant, having such a daugh- 
ter as you, should love her better than anything else, and 
that he should talk of her oftener than anything else — 
while I have neither daughter, nor sister, nor mother, nor 
kith nor kin, nor anything but the Delawares to love, I 
naturally chimed in, as it were, and got to love you, Ma- 
bel, before I ever saw you — yes, I did — just by talking 
about you so much.” 

“ And now you have seen me,” returned the smiling girl, 
whose unmoved and natural manner proved how little she 
was thinking of anything more than parental or fraternal 
regard, “you are beginning to see the folly of forming 
friendships for people before you know anything about 
them, except by hearsay.” 

“It wasn’t friendship — it isn’t friendship, Mabel, that 
I feel for you. I am the friend of the Delawares, and 
have been so from boyhood: but my feelings for them, or 
for the best of them, are not the same as them I got from 


THE PATHFINDER. 


189 


the sergeant for you; and especially now that I begin to 
know you better, I’m sometimes afear’d it isn’t whole- 
some for one who is much occupied in a very manly call- 
ing, like that of a guide or a scout, or a soldier even, to 
form friendships for women — young women in particular 
— as they seem to me to lessen the love of enterprise, and 
to turn the feelings away from their gifts and natural oc- 
cupations.” 

“You surely do not mean, Pathfinder, that a friendship 
for a girl like me would make you less bold, and more un- 
willing to meet the French, than you were before ? ” 

“ Not so — not so. With you in danger, for instance, I 
fear I might become foolhardy; but before we became so 
intimate, as I may say, I loved to think of my scoutin’s, 
and of my marches, and outlyings, and fights, and other 
adventures; but now my mind cares less about them; I 
think more of the barracks and of evenings passed in dis- 
course, of feelins’ in which there are no wranglings and 
bloodshed, and of young women, and of their laughs and 
their cheerful soft voices, their pleasant looks, and their 
winning ways! I sometimes tell the sergeant that he and 
his daughter will be the spoiling of one of the best and 
most experienced scouts on the lines! ” 

“ Not they, Pathfinder; they will try to make that which 
is already so excellent, perfect. You do not know us, if 
you think that either wishes to see you in the least changed. 
Remain, as at present, the same honest, upright, conscien- 
tious, fearless, intelligent, trustworthy guide that you are, 
and neither my dear father nor myself can ever think of 
you differently from what we do now.” 

It was too dark for Mabel to note the workings of the 
countenance of her listener, but her own sweet face was 
turned toward him, as she spoke, with an energy equal to 
her frankness, in a way to show how little embarrassed 
were her thoughts and how sincere were her words. Her 
countenance was a little flushed, it is true, but it was with 
earnestness and truth of feeling; though no nerve thrilled, 
no limbs trembled, no pulsation quickened. In short, her 
manner and appearance were those of a sincere-minded 
and frank girl, making such a declaration of good-will and 
regard for one of the other sex as she felt that his services 
and good qualities merited, without any of the emotion 


19c 


THE PATHFINDER. 


that invariably accompanies the consciousness of an in- 
clination which might lead to softer disclosures. 

The Pathfinder was too unpractised, however, to enter 
into distinctions of this kind, and his humble nature was 
encouraged by the directness and strength of the words 
he had just heard. Unwilling, if not unable, to say any 
more, he walked away, and stood leaning on his rifle and 
looking up at the stars, for quite ten minutes, in profound 
silence. 

In the mean while the interview on the bastion, to which 
we have already alluded, took place between Lundie and 
the sergeant. 

“ Have the men’s knapsacks been examined ? ” de- 
manded Major Duncan, after he had cast his eye at a 
written report handed to him by the sergeant, but which 
it was too dark to read. 

“ All, your honor; and all are right.” 

“ The ammunition — arms ” 

“All in order, Major Duncan, and fit for any service.” 

“ You have the men named in my own draft, Dunham ? ” 

“Without an exception, sir. Better men could not be 
found in the regiment.” 

“ You have need of the best of our men, sergeant. This 
experiment has now been tried three times, always under 
one of the ensigns, who have flattered me with success, 
but have as often failed. After so much preparation and 
expense, I do not like to abandon the project entirely; but 
this will be the last effort, and the result will mainly de- 
pend on you and on the Pathfinder.” 

“ You may count on us both, Major Duncan. The duty 
you have given us is not above our habits and experience, 
and I think it will be well done. I know that the Path* 
finder will not be wanting.” 

“ On that, indeed, it will be safe to rely. He is a most 
extraordinary man, Dunham — one who long puzzled me; 
but who, now that I understand him, commands as much 
of my respect as any general in his Majesty’s service.” 

“ I was in hopes, sir, that you would come to look at 
the proposed marriage with Mabel as a thing that I ought 
to wish and forward.” 

“As for that, sergeant, time will show,” returned Lun- 
die, smiling ; though here, too, the obscurity concealed the 


THE PATHFINDER. 


I 9 I 

nicer snades of expression — “ one woman is sometimes 
more difficult to manage than a whole regiment of men. 
By the way, you know that your would-be son-in-law, the 
quartermaster, will be of the party; and I trust you will 
at least give him an equal chance in the trial for your 
daughter’s smiles.” 

“ If respect for his rank, sir, did not cause me to do this, 
your honor’s wish would be sufficient.” 

“ I thank you, sergeant. We have served much together, 
and ought to value each other in our several stations. 
Understand me, however: I ask no more for Davy Muir 
than a clear field and no favor. In love, as in war, each 
man must gain his own victories. Are you certain that 
the rations have been carefully calculated ? ” 

“I’ll answer for it, Major Duncan; but, if they were 
not, we cannot suffer with two such hunters as Pathfinder 
and the Serpent in company.” 

“That will never do, Dunham,” interrupted Lundie, 
sharply, “ and it comes of your American birth and Ameri- 
can training! No thorough soldier ever relies on anything 
but his commissary for supplies; and I beg no part of my 
regiment may be the first to set an example to the con- 
trary. ” 

“You only have to command, Major Duncan, to be 
obeyed, and yet, if I might presume, sir ” 

“ Speak freely, sergeant; you are talking with a friend.” 

“ I was merely about to say that I find even the Scotch 
soldiers like venison and birds quite as well as pork, when 
they are difficult to be had.” 

“That may be very true; but likes and dislikes have 
nothing to do with system. An army can rely on nothing 
but its commissaries. The irregularity of the provincials 
has played the devil with the king’s service too long to be 
winked at any longer.” 

“ General Braddock, your honor, might have been ad- 
vised by Colonel Washington.” 

“Out upon your Washington! You’re as provincials 
together, man, and uphold each other as if you were of a 
sworn confederacy.” 

“ I believe his Majesty has no more loyal subjects than 
the Americans, your honor.” 

“In that, Dunham, I’m thinking you’re right; and I 


192 


THE PATHFINDER. 


have been a little too warm, perhaps. I do not consider 
you a provincial, however, sergeant; for, though born in 
America, a better soldier never shouldered a musket.” 

“ And Colonel Washington, your honor ” 

“Well: and Colonel Washington may be a useful sub- 
ject, too. He is the American prodigy; and I suppose I 
may as well give him all the credit you ask. You have 
no doubt of the skill of this Jasper Eau-douce ? ” 

“The boy has been tried, sir, and found equal to all 
that can be required of him.” 

“ He has a French name, and has passed much of his 
boyhood in the French colonies — has he French blood in 
his veins, sergeant ? ” 

“Not a drop, your honor. Jasper’s father was an old 
comrade of my own, and his mother came of an honest 
and loyal family in this very province.” 

“How came he, then, so much among the French, and 
whence his name ? He speaks the language of the Can- 
adas, too, I find.” 

“ That is easily explained, Major Duncan. The boy 
was left under the care of one of our mariners in the old 
war, and he took to the water like a duck. Your honor 
knows that we have no ports on Ontario that can be 
named as such, and he naturally passed most of his time 
on the other side of the lake, where the French have had 
a few vessels these fifty years. He learned to speak their 
language, as a matter of course, and got his name from 
the Indians and Canadians, who are fond of calling men 
by their qualities, as it might be.” 

“A French master is but a poor instructor for a British 
soldier, notwithstanding.” 

“ I beg your pardon, sir; Jasper Eau-douce was brought 
up under a real English seaman ; one that had sailed under 
the king’s pennant, and maybe called a thoroughbred; 
that is to say, a subject born in the colonies, but none the 
worse at his trade, I hope, Major Duncan, for that.” 

“Perhaps not, sergeant — perhaps not; nor any better. 
This Jasper behaved well, too, when I gave him the com- 
mand of the Scud j no lad could have conducted himself 
more loyally or better.” 

“ Or more bravely, Major Duncan. I am sorry to see, 
sir, that you have doubts as to the fidelity of Jasper.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


193 


It is the duty of the soldier who is intrusted with the 
care of a distant and important post like this, Dunham, 
never to relax in his vigilance. We have two of the most 
artful enemies that the world has ever produced, in their 
several ways, to contend with — the Indians and the French ; 
and nothing should be overlooked that can lead to injuryj” 
44 1 hope your honor considers me fit to be intrusted with 
any particular reason that may exist for doubting Jasper, 
since you have seen fit to intrust me with the command.” 

44 It is not that I doubt you, Dunham, that I hesitate to 
reveal all I may happen to know, but from a strong re- 
luctance to circulate an evil report concerning one of 
whom I have hitherto thought well. You must think well 
of the Pathfinder, or you would not wish to give him your 
daughter ? ” 

44 For the Pathfinder’s honesty, I will answer with my 
life, sir,” returned the sergeant firmly, and not without a 
dignity of manner that struck his superior. 44 Such a man 
doesn’t know how to be false.” 

44 1 believe you are right, Dunham, and yet this last in- 
formation has unsettled all my old opinions. I have re- 
ceived an anonymous communication, sergeant, advising 
me to be on my guard against Jasper Western, or Jasper 
Eau-douce as he is called, who, it alleges, has been 
bought by the enemy, and giving me reason to expect that 
further and more precise information will soon be sent.” 

44 Letters without signatures to them, sir, are scarcely to 
be regarded in war.” 

44 Or in peace, Dunham. No one can entertain a lower 
opinion of the writer of an anonymous letter, in ordinary 
matters, than myself. The very act denotes cowardice, 
meanness, and baseness; and it usually is a token of false- 
hood, as well as of other vices. But, in matters of war, 
it is not exactly the same thing. Besides, several suspi- 
cious circumstances have been pointed out to me ” 

44 Such as is fit for an orderly to hear, your honor ? ” 

44 Certainly, one in whom I confide as much as in your- 
self, Dunham. It is said, for instance, that your daughter 
and her party were permitted to escape the Iroquois, when 
they came in, merely to give Jasper credit with me. I 
am told that the gentry at Frontenac will care more for 
the capture of the Scud r with Sergeant Dunha^ and a 


194 


THE PATHFINDER. 


party of men, together with the defeat of our favorite plan, 
than for the capture of a girl and the scalp of her uncle.” 

“ I understand the hint, sir, but I do not give it credit. 
Jasper can hardly be true and Pathfinder false; and as 
for the last, I would as soon distrust you honor as distrust 
him! ” 

“ It would seem so, sergeant: it would indeed seem so. 
But Jasper is not the Pathfinder, after all, and I will own, 
Dunham, I should put more faith in the lad if he didn’t 
speak French ! ” 

“ It’s no recommendation, in my eyes, I assure your 
honor; but the boy learned it by compulsion, as it were, 
and ought not to be condemned too hastily for the cir- 
cumstance, by your honor’s leave. If he does speak 
French, it’s because he can’t well help it.” 

“ It’s a d d lingo, and never did any one good — at 

least no British subject; for I suppose the French them- 
selves must talk together in some language or other. I 
should have much more faith in this Jasper did he know 
nothing of their language. This letter has made me un- 
easy; and, were there another to whom I could trust the 
cutter, I would devise some means to detain him here. I 
have spoken to you already of a brother-in-law who goes 
with you, sergeant, and who is a sailor ? ” 

“ A real seafaring man, your honor, and somewhat preju- 
diced against fresh water. I doubt if he could be induced 
to risk his character on a lake, and I’m certain he never 
could find the station.” 

“ The last is probably true, and then the man cannot 
know enough of this treacherous lake to be fit for the em- 
ployment. You will have to be doubly vigilant, Dunham. 
I give you full powers, and, should you detect this Jasper 
in any treachery, make him a sacrifice at once to offended 
justice/” 

“ Being in the service of the crown, your honor, he is 
amenable to martial law ” 

“Very true — then iron him from his head 'o his heels, 
and send him up here in his own cutter. That brother- 
in-law of yours must be able to find the way back after 
he has once travelled to the road.” 

“I make no doubt, Major Duncan, we shall be able to 
do all that will be necessary, should Jasper turn out as 


THE PATHFINDER. 1 95 

you seem to anticipate; though I think I would risk my 
life on his truth.” 

“ 1 like your confidence; it speaks well for the fellow — ■ 
but that infernal letter! There is such an air of truth 
about it — nay, there is so much truth in it touching other 
matters ” 

“ I think your honor said it wanted the name at the bot- 
tom; a great omission for an honest man to make.” 

“ Quite right, Dunham, and no one but a rascal, and a 
cowardly rascal into the bargain, would write an anony- 
mous letter on private affairs. It is different, however, in 
war. Dispatches are feigned, and artifice is generally 
allowed to be justifiable.” 

“Military, manly artifices, sir, if you will; such as am- 
bushes, surprises, feints, false attacks, and even spies; but 
I never heard of a true soldier who could wish to under- 
mine the character of an honest young man by such means 
as these ! ” 

“ I have met with many strange events and some 
stranger people in the course of my experience. But fare 
you well, sergeant; I must detain you no longer. You 
are now on your guard, and I recommend to you untiring 
vigilance. I think Muir means shortly to retire, and, 
should you fully succeed in this enterprise, my influence 
will not be wanting in endeavoring to put you into the 
vacancy, to which you have many claims! ” 

“I humbly thank your honor,” coolly returned the ser- 
geant, who had been encouraged in this manner any time 
for the preceding twenty years, “ and hope I shall never 
disgrace my station, whatever it may be. I am what 
nature and Providence have made me, and I hope I’m 
satisfied.” 

“You have not forgotten the howitzer ? ” 

“ Jasper took it on board this morning, sir.” 

“ Be wary, and do not trust that man unnecessarily. 
Make a confidant of Pathfinder at once; he may be of 
service in detecting any villainy that may be stirring. His 
simple honesty will favor his observation, by concealing 
it. He must be true.” 

“ For him, sir, my own head shall answer, or even my 
rank in the regiment. I have seen him too often tried to 
doubt him.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


:ig 6 

“ Of all wretched sensations, Dunham, distrust, where 
one is compelled to confide, is the most painful. You 
have bethought you of the spare flints ? ” 

“ A sergeant is a safe commander for all such details, 
your honor. ” 

“Well, then, give me your hand, Dunham; God bless 
you, and may you be successful. Muir means to retire — 
by the way, let the man have an equal chance with your 
daughter, for it may facilitate future operations about the 
promotion. One would retire more cheefully with such a 
companion as Mabel than in cheerless widowhood, and 
with nothing but one’s self to love, and such a self, too, 
as Davy’s! ’’ 

“ I hope, sir, my child will make a prudent choice, and 
I think her mind is already pretty much made up in favor 
of Pathfinder. Still, she shall have fair play, though dis- 
obedience is the next crime to mutiny.” 

“ Have all the ammunition carefully examined and dried 
as soon as you arrive; the damp of the lake may affect it; 
and now, once more farewell, sergeant. Beware of that 
Jasper, and consult with Muir in any difficulty. I shall 
expect you to return triumphant this day month.” 

“ God bless your honor! If anything should happen to 
me, I trust to you, Major Duncan, to care for an old sol- 
dier’s character. ” 

“ Rely on me, Dunham — you will rely on a friend. Be 
vigilant; remember you will be in the very jaws of the 
lion — pshaw! — of no lion, neither; but of treacherous 
tigers — in their very jaws, and beyond support. Have 
the flints counted and examined in the morning — and — 
farewell, Dunham, farewell!” 

The sergeant took the extended hand of his superior 
with proper respect, and they finally parted, Lundie hasten- 
ing into his own movable abode, while the other left the 
fort, descended to the beach, and got into a boat. 

Duncan of Lundie had said no more than the truth 
when he spoke of the painful nature of distrust. Of all 
the feelings of the human mind, it is that which is the 
most treacherous in its workings, the most insidious in its 
approaches, and the least at the command of a generous 
temperament. While doubt exists, everything may be sus- 
pected, the thoughts having no definite facts to set bounds 


THE PATHFINDER. 


197 


to their wanderings; and, distrust once admitted, it is im- 
possible to say to what extent conjecture may lead, or 
whither credulity may follow. That which had previously 
seemed innocent assumes the hue of guilt as soon as this 
uneasy tenant has taken possession of the thoughts; and 
nothing is said or done without being subjected to the 
colorings and disfigurations of jealousy and apprehension. 
If this is true in ordinary affairs, it is doubly true when 
any heavy responsibility, involving life or death, weighs 
on the unsettled mind of its subject — as in the case of the 
military commander, or the agent in the management of 
any great political interest. It is not to be supposed, 
then, that Sergeant Dunham, after he had parted from his 
commanding officer, was likely to forget the injunctions 
he had received. He thought highly of Jasper, in general; 
but distrust had been insinuated between his former con- 
fidence and the obligations of duty; and, as he now felt 
that everything depended on his own vigilance, by the 
time the boat reached the side of the Scud he was in a 
proper humor to let no suspicious circumstances go un- 
heeded, or any unusual movement in the young sailor pass 
without its comment. As a matter of course, he viewed 
things in the light suited to his peculiar mood ; and his 
precautions, as well as his distrust, partook of the habits, 
opinions, and education of the man. 

The Scud's kedge was lifted as soon as the boat, with 
the sergeant, who was the last person expected, was seen 
to quit the shore, and the head of the cutter was cast to 
the eastward by means of the sweeps. A few vigorous 
strokes of the latter, in which the soldiers aided, sent the 
light craft into the line of the current, that flowed from 
the river, when she was suffered to drift into the offing 
again. As yet there was no wind, the light and almost 
imperceptible air from the lake, that had existed previ- 
ously to the setting of the sun, having entirely failed. 

All this time an unusual quiet prevailed in the cutter. 
It appeared as if those on board of her felt that they were 
entering upon an uncertain enterprise, in the obscurity of 
night; and that their duty, the hour, and the manner of 
their departure lent a solemnity to their movements. Dis- 
cipline also came in aid of these feelings. Most were si- 
lent; and those who said anything spoke seldom and in 


TKE PATHFINDER. 


198 

low voices. In this manner, the cutter set slowly out into 
the lake until she had got as far as the river current would 
carry her, when she became stationary, waiting for the 
usual land breeze. An interval of half an hour followed, 
during the whole of which time the Scud lay as motionless 
as a log, floating on the water. While the little changer- 
just mentioned were occurring in the situation of the ves 
sel, notwithstanding the general quiet that prevailed, all con 
versation had not been suppressed, for Sergeant Dunham 
having first ascertained that both his daughter and her 
female companion were on the quarter-deck, led the Path 
finder to the after cabin, where, closing the door with 
great caution, and otherwise making certain he was beyond 
the reach of eavesdroppers, he commenced as follows: 

“ It is now many years, my friend, since you began to 
experience the hardships and dangers of the woods in my 
company. ” 

“ It is, sergeant; yes, it is. I sometimes fear I am too 
old for Mabel, who was not born until you and I had fou’t 
the Frenchers as comrades.” 

“No fear on that account, Pathfinder. I was near your 
age before I prevailed on the mind of her mother; and 
Mabel is a steady, thoughtful girl, one that will regard 
character more than anything else. A lad like Jasper 
Eau-douce, for instance, will have no chance with her, 
though he is both young and comely.” 

“ Does Jasper think of marrying ? ” inquired the guide, 
simply but earnestly. 

“ I should hope not — at least not until he has satisfied 
every one of his fitness to possess a wife.” 

“Jasper is a gallant boy, and one of great gifts in his 
way; he may claim a wife as well as another.” 

“To be frank with you, Pathfinder, I brought you here 
to talk about this very youngster. Major Duncan has re- 
ceived some information which has led him to suspect that 
Eau-douce is false, and in the pay of the enemy; I wish 
to hear your opinion on the subject.” 

“ Anan! ” 

“ I say that the major suspects Jasper of being a traitor 
— a French spy — or, what is worse, of being bought to 
betray us. He has received a letter to this effect, and has 
been charging me to keep an eye on the boy’s movements, 


THE PATHFINDER. 


<99 


for he ic^rs we shall meet with enemies when we least ex- 
pect it, and by his means.” 

“ Duncan of Lundie has told you this, Sergeant Dun- 
ham ? 

“ He has, indeed, Pathfinder; and, though I have been 
loath to believe anything to the injury of Jasper, I have 
a feeling which tells me I ought to distrust him. Do you 
believe in presentiments, my friend ?” 

“ In what, sergeant ? ” 

“Presentiments — a sort of secret foreknowledge of 
events that are about to happen. The Scotch of our regi- 
ment are great sticklers for such things; and my opinion 
of Jasper is changing so fast that I begin to fear there 
must be some truth in their doctrines.” 

“But you’ve been talking with Duncan of Lundie con- 
sarning Jasper, and his words have raised misgivin’s.” 

“Not it — not so in the least. For while conversing 
with the major, my feelings were altogether the other way; 
and I endeavored to convince him all I could that he did 
the boy injustice. But there is no use holding out against 
a presentiment, I find ; and I fear there is something in 
the suspicion, after all.” 

“ I know nothing of presentiments, sergeant, but I have 
known Jasper Eau-douce since he was a boy, and I have 
as much faith in his honesty as I have in my own or that 
of the Sarpent himself.” 

“ But the Serpent, Pathfinder, has his tricks and am- 
bushes in war, as well as another.” 

“ Ay, them are his nat’ral gifts, and such as belong to 
his people. Neither red-skin nor pale-face can deny natur’ ; 
but Chingachgook is not the man to feel a presentiment 
ag’in’.” 

“ That I believe ; nor should I have thought ill of Jasper 
this very morning. It seems to me, Pathfinder, since I’ve 
taken up this presentiment, that the lad does not bustle 
about his deck naturally, as he used to do, but that he is 
silent and moody and thoughtful, like a man who has a 
load on his conscience.” 

“Jasper is never noisy, and he tells me noisy ships are 
generally ill-worked ships. Master Cap agrees in this, 
too. No — no — I will believe naught against Jasper until 
I see it. Send for your brother^ sergeant, and let us ques- 


200 


THE PATHFINDER. 


tion him in this matter; for to sleep with distrust on one’s 
fri’nd in the heart is like sleeping with lead there. I have 
no faith in your presentiments. ,, 

The sergeant, although he scarce knew, himself, with 
what object, complied, and Cap was summoned to join in 
the consultation. As Pathfinder was more collected than 
his companion, and felt so strong a conviction of the good 
faith of the party accused, he assumed the office of spokes- 
man. 

“We have asked you to come down, Master Cap,” he 
commenced, “ in order to inquire if you have remarked 
anything out of the common way in the movements of 
Eau-douce this evening ? ” 

“ His movements are common enough, I dare say, for 
fresh water, Master Pathfinder, though we should think 
most of his proceedings irregular down on the coast.” 

“ Yes, yes — we know you will never agree with the lad 
about the manner the cutter ought to be managed; but it 
is on another p’int we wish your opinion.” 

The Pathfinder then explained to Cap the nature of the 
suspicion which the sergeant entertained, and the reasons 
why they had been excited, so far as the latter had been 
communicated by Major Duncan. 

“ The youngster talks French, does he ? ” 

“ They say he speaks it better than common,” returned 
the sergeant, gravely. “ Pathfinder knows this to be true. ” 

“ I’ll not gainsay it — I’ll not gainsay it,” answered the 
guide, “ at least they tell me such is the fact. But this 
would prove nothing ag’iiT a Mississagua, and least of all 
ag’in’ one like Jasper. I speak the Mingo dialect myself, 
having l’arnt it while a prisoner among the riptyles; but 
who will say I am their fri’nd ? Not that I am an inimy, 
either, according to Injin notions; though I am their ini- 
my, I will admit, agreeable to Christianity.” 

“ Ay, Pathfinder, but Jasper did not get his French as 
a prisoner: he took it in, in boyhood, when the mind is 
easily impressed, and gets its permanent notions — when 
nature has a presentiment, as it were, which way the char- 
acter is likely to incline.” 

“ A very just remark,” added Cap, “ for that is the time 
of life when we all learn the catechism and other moral 
improvements. The sergeant’s observation shows that he 


THE PATHFINDER. 


201 


understands human nature, and I agree with him per- 
fectly; it is a damnable thing for a youngster, up nere, on 
this bit of fresh water, to talk French. If it were down 
on the Atlantic, now, where a seafaring man has occasion 
sometimes to converse with a pilot or a linguister in that 
language, I should not think so much of it, though we 
always look with suspicion, even there, at a shipmate who 
knows too much of the tongue: but up here, on Ontario, 
I hold it to be a most suspicious circumstance.” 

“But Jasper must talk in French to the people on the 
other shore,” said Pathfinder, “or hold his tongue, as 
there are none but French to speak to.” 

“ You don’t mean to tell me, Pathfinder, that France 
lies hereaway, on the opposite coast ?” cried Cap, jerking 
a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the*Canadas; 
“that one side of this bit of fresh water is York, and the 
other France ? ” 

“I mean to tell you this is York, and that is Upper 
Canada; and that English and Dutch and Indian are 
spoken in the first, and French and Indian in the last. 
Even the Mingoes have got many of the French words in 
their dialect, and it is no improvement, neither.” 

“Very true; and what sort of people are the Mingoes, 
my friend ? ” inquired the sergeant, touching the other on 
a shoulder, by the way of enforcing a remark, the inherent 
truth of which sensibly increased its value in the eyes of 
the speaker — “ no one knows better than yourself, and I 
ask you what sort of a tribe are they ? ” 

“Jasper is no Mingo, sergeant.” 

“ He speaks French, and he might as well be, in that 
particular. Brother Cap, can you recollect no movement 
of this unfortunate young man, in the way of his calling, 
that would seem to denote treachery ? ” 

“ Not distinctly, sergeant, though he has gone to work 
wrong end foremost, half his time. It is true that one of 
his hands coiled a rope against the sun, and he called it 
curling a rope, too, when I asked him what he was about ; 
but I am not certain that anything was meant by it ; though 
I dare say the French coil half their running rigging the 
wrong way, and may call it ‘curling it down,’ too, for that 
matter. Then Jasper, himself, belayed the end of the 
jib halyards to a stretcher in the rigging instead of bring- 


202 


THE PATHFINDER. 


ing them in to the mast, where they belong, at leao^ among 
British sailors. ” 

“ I dare say Jasper may have got some Canada notions 
about working his craft, from being so much on the other 
side,” Pathfinder interposed ; “ but catching an idee or a 
word isn’t treachery and bad faith. I sometimes get an 
idee from the Mingoes themselves; but my heart has al 
ways been with the Delawares. No — no — Jasper is true; 
the king might trust him with his crown, just as he would 
his eldest son, who, as he is to wear it one day, ought to 
be the last man to wish to steal it.” 

“Fine talking — fine talking,” said Cap, rising to spit 
out of the cabin window, as is customary with men 
when they most feel their own great moral strength and 
happen to chew tobacco; “all fine talking, Master Path- 
finder, but d d little logic. In the first place, the king’s 

majesty cannot lend his crown, it being contrary to the 
laws of the realm, which require him to wear it at all 
times, in order that his sacred person may be known, just 
as the silver oar is necessary to a sheriff’s officer afloat. 
In the next place it’s high-treason by law for the eldest 
son of his majesty ever to covet the crown, or to have a 
child except in lawful wedlock, as either would derange 
the succession. Thus you see, Pathfinder, that in order 
to reason truly, one must get under way, as it might be, 
on the right tack. Law is reason, and reason is philoso- 
phy, and philosophy is a steady drag — whence it follows 
that crowns are regulated by law, reason, and philosophy.” 

“ I know little of all this, Master Cap; but nothing short 
of seein’ and feelin’ will make me think Jasper Western a 
traitor. ” 

“ There you are wrong again, Pathfinder, for there is a 
way of proving a thing much more conclusively than by 
either seeing or feeling, or both together: and that is, by 
a circumstance.” 

“ It may be so in the settlements; but it is not so here, 
on the lines.” 

“ It is so in nature, which is monarch over all. Now, 
according to our senses, young Eau-douce is this moment 
on deck, and by going up there either of us might see and 
feel him; but should it afterward appear that a fact was 
communicated to the French at this precise moment, which 


THE PATHFINDER. 


203 


fact no one but Jasper could communicate — why, we should 
be bound to believe that the circumstance was true, and 
that our eyes and our fingers deceived us. Any lawyer 
will tell you that.” 

“ This is hardly right,” said Pathfinder; “ nor is it possi- 
ble, seein’ that it is ag’in’ fact.” 

“ It is much more than possible, my worthy guide; it is 
law; absolute, king's law of the realm, and as such to 
be respected and obeyed. I’d hang my own brother on 
such testimony — no reflections on the family being meant, 
sergeant.” 

“ God knows how far all this applies to Jasper; though 
I do believe Mr. Cap is right as to the law, Pathfinder; 
circumstances being much stronger than the senses on such 
occasions. We must all of us be watchful, and nothing 
suspicious should be overlooked.” 

“Now I recollect me,” continued Cap, again using the 
window, “there was a circumstance just after we come 
on board this evening that is extremely suspicious, and 
which may be set down at once as a make-weight against 
this lad. Jasper bent on the king’s ensign with his own 
hands, and while he pretended to be looking at Mabel and 
the soldier’s wife, giving directions about showing them 
below here, and all that, he got the flag union down.” 

“That might have been accident,” returned the ser- 
geant, “ for such a thing has happened to myself ; besides, 
the halyards led to a pulley, and the flag would have 
come right or not, according to the manner in which the 
lad hoisted it.” 

“ A pulley ! ” exclaims Cap, with strong disgust ; “ I wish, 
Sergeant Dunham, I could prevail on you to use proper 
terms. An ensign-halyard block is no more a pulley than 
your halbert is a boarding-pike. It is true that, by hoist- 
ing on one part, another part would go uppermost; but I 
look upon this affair of the ensign, now you have men- 
tioned your suspicions, as a circumstance, and shall bear 
it in mind. I trust supper is not to be overlooked, how- 
ever, even if we have a hold full of traitors.” 

“ It shall be duly attended to, brother Cap; but I shall 
count on your aid in managing the Scud should anything 
occur to induce me to arrest Jasper.” 

“I’ll not fail you, sergeant; and in such an event you’ll 


204 


THE PATHFINDER. 


probably learn what this cutter can really perform ; for 
as yet I fancy it is pretty much matter of guess-work.” 

“Well, for my part,” said Pathfinder, drawing a heavy 
sigh, “I shall cling to the hope of Jasper’s innocence, and 
recommend plain dealing, by asking the lad himself, with- 
out further delay, whether he is or not a traitor. I’ll put 
Jasper Western ag’in’ all the presentiments and circum- 
stances in the colony.” 

“ That will never do,” rejoined the sergeant. “ The re- 
sponsibility of this affair rests with me, and I request and 
enjoin that nothing be said to any one without my knowl- 
edge. We will all keep watchful eyes about us, and take 
proper note of circumstances.” 

“Ay — ay — circumstances are the things after all,” re- 
turned Cap. “ One circumstance is worth fifty facts. 
That I know to be the law of the realm. Many a man 
has been hanged on circumstances.” 

The conversation now ceased, and, after a short delay, 
the whole party returned to the deck, each individual dis- 
posed to view the conduct of the suspected Jasper in the 
manner most suited to his own habits and character. 


CHAPTER XIV, 

“ Even such a man, so faint, so spiritless, 

So dull, so dead in look, so woe-begone, 

Drew Priam’s curtain in the dead of night, 

And would have told him half his Troy was burned. ” 

— Shakespeare. 

All this time matters were elsewhere passing in their 
usual train. Jasper, like the weather and his vessel, seemed 
to be waiting for the land breeze; while the soldiers, ac- 
customed to early rising, had, to a man, sought their pallets 
in the main hold. None remained on deck but the people 
of the cutter, Mr. Muir, and the two females. The quar- 
termaster was endeavoring to render himself agreeable to 
Mabel, while our heroine herself, little affected by his 
assiduities, which she ascribed partly to the habitual gal- 
lantry of a soldier, and partly, perhaps, to her own pretty 


THE PATHFINDER. 205 

face, was enjoying the peculiarities of a scene and situa- 
tion that to her were full of the charms of novelty. 

The sails had been hoisted, but as yet not a breath of 
air was in motion, and so still and placid was the lake that 
not the smallest motion was perceptible in the cutter. She 
had drifted in the river-current to a distance a little ex- 
ceeding a quarter of a mile from the land, and there she lay, 
beautiful in her symmetry and form, but like a fixture. 
Young Jasper was on the quarter-deck, near enough to 
hear, occasionally, the conversation which passed, but too 
diffident of his own claim, and too intent on his duties, to 
attempt to mingle in it. The fine blue eyes of Mabel fol- 
lowed his motions in curious expectation, and more than 
once the quartermaster had to repeat his compliments ere 
she heard them, so intent was she on the little occurrences 
of the vessel, and, we might add, so indifferent to the elo- 
quence of her companion. At length even Mr. Muir be- 
came silent, and there was a deep stillness on the water. 
Presently an oar-blade fell in a boat beneath the fort, and 
the sound reached the cutter as distinctly as if it had been 
produced on her deck. Then came a murmur, like a sigh 
of the night, a fluttering of the canvas, the creaking of 
the boom, and the flap of the jib. These well-known 
sounds were followed by a slight heel in the cutter, and 
by the bellying of all the sails. 

“ Here's the wind, Anderson," called out Jasper to the 
oldest of the sailors — “take the helm." 

This brief order was obeyed; the helm was put up, the 
cutter’s bows fell off, and in a few minutes the water was 
heard murmuring under her head, as the Scud glanced 
through the lake at the rate of five miles in an hour. All 
this passed profound silence, when Jasper again gave 
the order U ase off the sheets a little, and keep her 
along the land/' 

It was at this instant that the party from the after-cabin 
reappeared on the quarter-deck. 

“You’ve no inclination, Jasper, lad, to trust yourself 
too near our neighbors, the French," observed Muir, who 
took that occasion to recommence the discourse. “Well, 
well, your prudence will never be questioned by me, for I 
like the Canadas as little as you can possibly like them 
yourself ! ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2 0 6 

“ I hug this shore, Mr. Muir, on account of the wind. 
The land breeze is always freshest close in, provided you 
are not so near as to make a lee of the trees. We have 
Mexico Bay to cross, and that, on the present course, wil! 
give us quite offing enough. ” 

“I’m right glad it’s not the Bay of Mexico,” put in 
Cap, “ which is a part of the world I would rather not visit 
in one of your inland craft. Does your cutter bear a 
weather helm, Master Oh-the-deuce ? ” 

“ She is easy on her rudder, Master Cap, but likes look- 
ing up at the breeze as well as another, when in lively 
motion.” 

“ I suppose you have such things as reefs, though you 
can hardly have occasion to use them ? M 

Mabel’s bright eye detected the smile that gleamed for 
an instant on Jasper’s handsome face, but no one else saw 
that momentary exhibition of surprise and contempt. 

“We have reefs, and often have occasions to use them,” 
quietly returned the young man. “ Before we get in, Mas- 
ter Cap, an opportunity may offer to show you the manner 
in which we do so, for there is easterly weather brewing, 
and the wind cannot chop, even on the ocean itself, more 
readily than it flies round on Lake Ontario.” 

“ Sounuch for knowing no better! I have seen the wind 
in the Atlantic fly round like a coach-wheel, in a way to 
keep your sails shaking for an hour, and the ship would 
become perfectly motionless from not knowing which way 
to turn. ” 

“We have no such sudden changes here, certainly,” 
Jasper mildly answered, “though we think ourselves liable 
to unexpected shifts of wind. I hope, however, to carry 
this land breeze as far as the first islands; after which 
there will be less danger of being seen and followed by 
any of the lookout boats from Frontenac. ” 

“ Do you think the French keep spies out on the broad 
lake, Jasper?” inquired Pathfinder. 

“We know they do; one was off Oswego during the 
night of Monday last. A bark canoe came close in with 
the eastern point, and landed an Indian and an officer. 
Had you been outlaying that night, as usual, we should 
have secured one, if not both, of them.” 

It was too dark to betray the color that deepened on 


THE PATHFINDER. 


207 


the weather-burnt features of the guide, for he felt the 
consciousness of having lingered in the fort that night, 
listening to the sweet tones of Mabel’s voice, as she sang 
ballads to her father, and gazing at the countenance that 
to him was radiant with charms. Probity in thought and 
deed being the distinguishing quality of this extraordinary 
man’s mind, while he felt that a sort of disgrace ought to 
attach to his idleness, on the occasion mentioned, the last 
thought that could occur would be to attempt to palliate 
or deny this negligence. 

“I confess it, Jasper, I confess it,” he said humbly. 
“ Had I been out that night — and I now remember no suffi- 
cient reason why I was not — it might, indeed, have turned 
out as you say.” 

“It was the evening you passed with us, Pathfinder,” 
Mabel innocently remarked; “ surely one who lives so 
much of his time in the forest, in front of the enemy, may 
be excused for giving a few hours of his time to an old 
friend and his daughter.” 

“ Nay, nay, I’ve done little else but idle since we reached 
the garrison,” returned the other, sighing, “and it is well 
that the lad should tell me of it; the idler needs a scoldin’ 
— yes, he needs a scoldin’.” 

“Scolding, Pathfinder! I never dreamed of saying any- 
thing disagreeable, and least of all would I think of rebuk- 
ing you, because a solitary spy and an Indian or two have 
escaped us! Now I know where you were, and I think 
your absence the most natural thing in the world.” 

“I think nothing of it, Jasper, I think nothing of what 
you said, since it was desarved We are all human, and 
all do wrong.” 

“This is unkind, Pathfinder.” 

“ Give me your hand, lad, give your hand. It wasn’t 
you that gave me the lesson; it was conscience.” 

“Well, well,” interrupted Cap, “now this latter matter 
is settled to the satisfaction of all parties, perhaps you will 
tell us how it happened to be known that there were spies 
near us so lately. This looks amazingly like a circum- 
stanoe! ” 

As the mariner uttered the last sentence, he pressed a 
foot slyly on that of the sergeant, and nudged the guide 
with his elbow, winking at the same time, though this sign 
was lost in the obscurity. 


208 


THE PATHFINDER, 


“ It is known because their trail was found next day by 
the Serpent, and it was that of a military boot and a moc- 
casin. One of our hunters, moreover, saw the canoe cross- 
ing toward Frontenac next morning.” 

“ Did the trail lead near the garrison, Jasper?” Path- 
finder asked, in a manner so meek and subdued that it re- 
sembled the tone of a rebuked schoolboy. “ Did the trail 
lead near the garrison, lad ? ” 

“We thought not — though of course it did not cross the 
river. It was followed down to the eastern point, at the 
river’s mouth, where what was doing in port might be seen ; 
but it did not cross, as we could discover.” 

“And why didn’t you get underway, Master Jasper,” 
Cap demanded, “and give chase ? On Tuesday morning 
it blew a good breeze; one in which this cutter might have 
run nine knots.” 

“That may do on the ocean, Master Cap,” put in Path- 
finder, “but it would not do here. Water leaves no trail, 
and a Mingo and a Frenchman are a match for the devil 
in pursuit.” 

“ Who wants a trail when the chase can be seen from 
the deck, as Jasper, here, said was the case with this 
canoe ? and it mattered nothing if there were twenty of 
your Mingoes and Frenchmen, with a good British-built 
bottom in their wake. I’ll engage, Master Oh-the-deuce, 
had you given me a call that said Tuesday morning, that 
we should have overhauled the blackguards.” 

“ I dare say, Master Cap, that the advice of as old a sea- 
man as you might have done no harm to as young a sailor 
as myself, but it is a long and a hopeless chase that has 
a bark canoe in it.” 

“You would have had only to press it hard to drive it 
ashore.” 

“Ashore, Master Cap! You do not understand oif lake 
navigation at all if you suppose it an easy matter to force 
a bark canoe ashore. As soon as they find themselves 
pressed, these bubbles paddle right into the wind’s eye, 
and, before you know it, you find yourself a mile or two 
dead under their lee.” 

“You don’t wish me to believe, Master Jasper, that 
any one is so heedless of drowning as to put off in this 
lake, in one of them eggshells, when there is any wind ? 99 


THE PATHFINDER. 


209 


M I have often crossed Ontario in a bark canoe, even 
when there has been a good deal of sea on. Well man- 
aged, they are the driest boats of which we have any 
knowledge. ' 

Cap now led his brother-in-law and Pathfinder aside* 
when he assured them that the admission of Jasper concern^ 
ing the spies was a “ circumstance,” and “ a strong circum- 
stance,” and as such deserved his deliberate investigation; 
while his account of the canoes was so improbable as to 
wear the appearance of browbeating the listeners. Jasper 
spoke confidently of the character of the two individuals 
who had landed, and this Cap deemed pretty strong proof 
that he knew more about them than was to be gathered 
from a mere trail. As for the moccasins, he said that they 
were worn, in that part of the world, by white men as 
well as by Indians: he had purchased a pair himself; and 
boots, it was notorious, did not particularly make a sol- 
dier. Although much of this logic was thrown away on 
the sergeant, still it produced some effect. He thought 
it a little singular, himself, that there should have been 
spies detected so near the fort and he knew nothing of it, 
nor did he believe that this was a branch of knowledge 
that fell particularly within the sphere of Jasper. It was 
true that the Scud had once or twice been sent across the 
lake to land men of this character, or to bring them off; 
but then the part played by Jasper, to his own certain 
knowledge, was very secondary, the master of the cutter 
remaining as ignorant as only one else of the purport of 
the visits of those whom he had carried to and fro; nor 
did he see why he, alone, of all present, should know any- 
thing of the late visit. Pathfinder viewed the matter dif- 
ferently. With his habitual diffidence he reproached him- 
self with a neglect of duty, and that knowledge of which 
the want struck him as a fault in one whose business it was 
to possess it, appeared a merit to the young man. He saw 
nothing extraordinary in Jasper’s knowing the facts he 
had related; while he did feel it was unusual, not to say 
disgraceful, that he himself now heard of them for the first 
time. 

“ As for moccasins, Master Cap,” he said, when a short 
pause invited him to speak, “ they may be worn by pale- 
faces as well as by red-skins; it is true, though, they never 
I 4 


210 


THE PATHFINDER. 


leave the same trail on the foot of one as on the foot or 
the other. Any one who in used to the woods can tell 
the footstep of an Injin from the footstep of a white man, 
whether it be made by a boot or a moccasin. It will need 
better evidence than this to make me believe that Jasper 
is false/’ 

“You will allow, Pathfinder, that there are such things 
in the world as traitors,” put in Cap, logically. 

“ I never knew an honest-minded Mingo — one that you 
could put faith in, if he had a temptation to deceive you. 
Cheatin’ seems to be their gift, and I sometimes think 
they ought to be pitied for.it rather than persecuted.” 

“Then why not believe that this Jasper may have the 
same weakness ? A man is a man, and human nature is 
sometimes but a poor concern, as I know by experience — 
I may say, well know by experience; at least, I speak for 
my own human nature.” 

This was the opening of another long and desultory 
conversation, in which the probability of Jasper’s guilt or 
innocence was argued pro and con, until both the sergeant 
and his brother-in-law had nearly reasoned themselves into 
settled convictions in favor of the first, while their com- 
panion grew sturdier and sturdier in his defence of the 
accused, and still more fixed in his opinion of his being 
unjustly charged with treachery. In this there was nothing 
out of the common course of things, for there is no more 
certain way of arriving at any particular notion than by 
undertaking to defend it; and among the most obstinate 
of our opinions may be classed those which are derived 
from discussions in which we affect to search for truth, 
while in reality we are only fortifying prejudice. By this 
time the sergeant had reached a state of mind that dis- 
posed him to view every act of the young sailor with dis- 
trust, and he soon got to coincide with his relative in 
deeming the peculiar knowledge of Jasper in reference to 
the spies, a branch of information that certainly did not 
come within the circle of his regular duties, as a “ circum- 
stance.” 

While this matter was thus discussed near the taffrail, 
Mabel sat silent by the companionway; Mr. Muir having 
gone below to look after his personal comforts, and Jasper 
standing a little aloof, with his arms crossed, and his eyes 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2X1 


wandering from the sails to the clouds, and the clouds to 
the dusky outline of the shore, from the shore to the lake, 
and from the lake back again to the sails. Our heroine, 
too, began to commune with her own thoughts. The ex 
citement of the late journey, the incidents which marked 
the day of her arrival at the fort, the meeting with a father 
who was virtually a stranger to her, the novelty of her late 
situation in the garrison, and her present voyage, formed 
a vista for the mind’s eye to look back through that 
seemed lengthened into months. She could with difficulty 
believe that she had so recently left the town, with all the 
usages of civilized life; and she wondered, in particular, 
that the incidents which had occurred during the descent 
of the Oswego had made so little impression on her mind. 
Too inexperienced to know that events, when crowded, 
have the effect of time, or that the quick succession of 
novelties that pass before us in travelling elevates objects, 
in a measure, to the dignity of events, she drew upon her 
memory for days and dates, in order to make certain that 
she had known Jasper and the Pathfinder and her own 
father but little more than a fortnight. Mabel was a girl 
of heart rather than of imagination, though by no means 
deficient in the last, and she could not easily account for 
the strength of her feelings in connection with those who 
were lately strangers to her; for she was not sufficiently 
accustomed to analyze her sensations, to understand the 
nature of the influences that have just been mentioned. 
As yet, however, her pure mind was free from the blight 
of distrust, and she had no suspicion of the views of either 
of her suitors; and one of the last thoughts that could 
have voluntarily disturbed her confidence would have been 
to suppose it possible either of her companions was a traitor 
to his king and country. 

America, at the time of which we are writing, was re- 
markable for its attachment to the German family that 
then sat on the British throne; for, as is the fact with all 
provinces, the virtues and qualities that are proclaimed 
near the centre of power, as incense and policy, get to be 
a part of political faith with the credulous and ignorant, 
at a distance. The truth is just as apparent to-day, in 
connection with the prodigies of the republic, as it then 
was in connection with those distant rulers, whose merits 


212 


THE PATHFINDER. 


it was always safe to applaud, and whose demerits it was 
treason to reveal. It is a consequence of this mental de- 
pendence that public opinion is so much placed at the 
mercy of the designing; and the world, in the midst of its 
idle boasts of knowledge and improvement, is left to re- 
ceive its truths, on all such points as touch the interests 
of the powerful and managing, through such a medium, 
and such a medium only, as may serve the particular views 
of those who pull the wires. Pressed upon by the subjects 
of France, who were then encircling the British colonies 
with a belt of forts and settlements that completely se- 
cured the savages for allies, it would have been difficult 
to say whether the Americans loved the English more than 
they hated the French; and those who then lived probably 
would have considered the alliance which took place be- 
tween the cis- Atlantic subjects and the ancient rivals of the 
British crown, some twenty years later, as an event en- 
tirely without the circle of probabilities. In a word, as 
fashions are exaggerated in a province, so are opinions; 
and the loyalty that at London merely formed a part of a 
political scheme, at New York was magnified into a faith 
that might almost have moved mountains. Disaffection 
was consequently a rare offence; and most of all would 
treason that should favor France or Frenchmen have 
been odious in the eyes of the provincials. The last thing 
that Mabel would suspect of Jasper was the very crime 
with which he now stood secretly charged ; and if others 
near her endured the pains of distrust, she at least was 
filled with the generous confidence of a woman. As yet 
no whisper had reached her ear to disturb the feeling of 
reliance with which she had early regarded the young 
sailor, and her own mind would have been the last to sug- 
gest such a thought of itself. The pictures of the past 
and the present, therefore, that exhibited themselves so 
rapidly to her active imagination were unclouded with a 
shade that might affect any one in whom she felt an in- 
terest; and ere she had mused, in the manner related, a 
quarter of an hour, the whole scene around her was filled 
with unalloyed satisfaction. 

The season and the night, to represent them truly, were 
of a nature to stimulate the sensations which youth, health, 
and happiness are wont to associate with novelty. The 


THE PATHFINDER. 


213 


weather was warm, as is not always the case in that region, 
even in summer, while the air that came off the land, in 
breathing currents, brought with it the coolness and fra- 
grance of the forest. The wind was far from being fresh, 
though there was enough of it to drive the Scud merrily 
ahead, and perhaps to keep attention alive, in the uncer- 
tainty that more or less accompanies darkness. Jasper, 
however, appeared to regard it with complacency, as was 
apparent by what he said in a short dialogue that now oc- 
curred between him and Mabel. 

“ At this rate, Eau-douce ” (for so Mabel had already 
learned to style the young sailor), said our heroine, “ we 
cannot be long in reaching our place of destination.” 

“ Has your father told you what that is, Mabel ? ” 

“ He has told me nothing; my father is too much of a 
soldier, and too little used to have a family around him, 
to talk of such matters. Is it forbidden to say whither 
we are bound ? ” 

“ It cannot be far while we steer in this direction, for 
sixty or seventy miles will take us into the St. Lawrence, 
which the French might make too hot for us; and no voy- 
age on this lake can be very long.” 

“ So says my uncle Cap ; but to me, Jasper, Ontario and 
the ocean appear very much the same.” 

“ You have been on the ocean, while I, who pretend to 
be a sailor, have never yet seen salt water? You must 
have a great contempt for such a mariner as myself, in 
your heart, Mabel Dunham ? ” 

“Then I have no such thing in my heart, Jasper Eau- 
douce. What right have I, a girl without experience or 
knowledge, to despise any, much less one like you, who 
are trusted by the major, and who command a vessel like 
this! I have never been on the ocean, though I have seen 
it; and I repeat, I see no difference between this lake and 
the Atlantic.” 

“ Nor in them that sail on both ? I was afraid, Mabel, 
your uncle had said so much against us fresh-water sailors 
that you had begun to look upon as us little better than 
pretenders.” 

“Give yourself no uneasiness on that account, Jasper, 
for I know my uncle, and he says as many things against 
those who live ashore when at York as he now says against 


214 


THE PATHFINDER. 


those who sail on fresh water. No — no ; neither my father 
nor myself think anything of such opinions; my uncle Cap, 
if he spoke openly, would be found to have even a worse 
notion of a soldier than of a sailor who never saw the sea/' 

“ But your father, Mabel, has a better opinion of sol- 
diers than of any one else; he wishes you to be the wife 
of a soldier.” 

“ Jasper Eau-douce! — Ithewifeof a soldier! Myfather 
wishes it! Why should he wish any such thing — what sol- 
dier is there in the garrison that I could marry — that he 
could wish me to marry ? ” 

“ One may love a calling so well as to fancy it will cover 
a thousand imperfections.” 

“ But one is not likely to love his own calling so well as 
to cause him to overlook everything else. You say my 
father wishes me to marry a soldier, and yet there is no 
soldier at Oswego that he would be likely to give me to. 
I am in an awkward position, for, while I am not good 
enough to be the wife of one of the gentlemen of the garri- 
son, I think even you will admit, Jasper, I am too good 
to be the wife of one of the common soldiers.” 

As Mabel spoke thus frankly, she blushed, she knew not 
why, though the obscurity concealed the fact from her 
companion; and she laughed faintly, like one who felt that 
the subject, however embarrassing it might be, deserved 
to be treated fairly. Jasper, it seemed, viewed her posi- 
tion differently from herself. 

“ It is true, Mabel,” he said, “ you are not what is called 
a lady, in the common meaning of the word ” 

“ Not in any meaning, Jasper,” the generous girl eagerly 
interrupted ; “ on that head I have no vanities, I hope. 
Providence has made me the daughter of a sergeant, and 
I am content to remain in the station in which I was born.” 

“ But all do not remain in the stations in which they 
were born, Mabel, for some rise above them, and some 
fall below them. Many sergeants have become officers — 
even generals; and why may not sergeant’s daughters be- 
come officers’ ladies ? ” 

“ In the case of Sergeant Dunham’s daughter, I know 
no better reason than the fact that no officer is likely to 
wish to make her his wife,” returned Mabel, laughing. 

“ You may t?hink so; but there are some in the 55th that 


THE PATHFINDER. 215 

know better. There is certainly one officer in tha" regi- 
ment, Mabel, who does wish to make you his wife.” 

Quick as the flashing lightning, the rapid thoughts of 
Mabel Dunham glanced over the five or six subalterns of 
the corps, who, by age and inclinations, would be the most 
likely to form such a wish; and we should do injustice to 
her habits, perhaps, were we not to say that a lively sensa- 
tion of pleasure rose momentarily in her bosom at the 
thought of being raised above a station which, whatever 
might be her professions of contentment, she felt that she 
had been too well educated to fill with perfect satisfaction 
But this emotion was as transient as it was sudden, for 
Mabel Dunham was a girl of too much pure and womanly 
feeling to view the marriage tie through anything so 
worldly as the mere advantages of station. The passing 
emotion was a thrill produced by habit, while the more 
settled opinion which remained was the offspring of nature 
and principles. 

“ I know no officer in' the 55th or any other regiment 
who would be likely to do so foolish a thing; nor do I 
think I myself would do so foolish a thing as to marry an 
officer.” 

“ Foolish, Mabel!” 

“ Yes, foolish, Jasper. You know, as well as I can 
know, what the world would think of such matters, and I 
should be sorry, very sorry, to find that my husband ever 
regretted that he had so far yielded to a fancy for a face 
or a figure as to have married the daughter of one so 
much his inferior as a sergeant.” 

“ Your husband, Mabel, will not be so likely to think of 
the father as to think of the daughter.” 

The girl was talking with spirit, though feeling evidently 
entered into her part cf the discourse; but she paused for 
a minute after Jasper had made the last observation, before 
she uttered another word. Then she continued, in a man- 
ner less playful, and one critically attentive might have 
fancied in a manner that was slightly melancholy: 

“ Parent and child ought so to live as not to have two 
hearts, or two modes of feeling and thinking. A commoD 
interest in all things I should think as necessary to happi- 
ness in man and wife as between the other members of 
the family. Most of all ought neither the man nor the 


hi 6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


woman to have any unusual cause for unhappiness, the 
world furnishing so many of itself.” 

“ Am I to understand, then, Mabel, you would refuse to 
marry an officer, merely because he was an officer ? ” 

“ Have you a right to ask such a question, Jasper ? ” said 
Mabel, smiling. 

“No other right than what a strong desire to see you 
happy can give, which, after all, may be very little. My 
anxiety has been increased from happening to know that 
it is your father’s intention to persuade you to marry 
Lieutenant Muir.” 

“ My dear, dear father can entertain no notion so ridicu- 
lous; no notion so cruel!” 

“Would it, then, be cruel to wish you the wife of a 
quartermaster ? ” 

“ I have told you what I think on that subject, and I 
cannot make my words stronger. Having answered you 
so frankly, Jasper, I have a right to ask how you know 
that my father thinks of any such thing ? ” 

/ “That he has chosen a husband for you, I know from 
his own mouth; for he has told me this much during our 
frequent conversations while he has been superintending 
the shipment of the stores; and that Mr. Muir is to offer 
for you, I know from the officer himself, who has told me 
as much. By putting the two things together, I have come 
to the opinion mentioned.” 

“ May not my dear father, Jasper ” — Mabel’s face glowed 
like fire while she spoke, though her words escaped her 
slowly, and by a sort of involuntary impulse — “ may not 
my dear father have been thinking of another ? It does 
not follow, from what you say, that Mr. Muir was in his 
mind. ” 

“Is it not probable, Mabel, from all that has passed ? 
What brings the quartermaster here ? He has never found 
it necessary before to accompany the parties that have 
gone below : he thinks of you for his wife ; and your father 
has made up his own mind that you shall be so. You 
must see, Mabel, that Mr. Muir follows you ? ” 

Mabel made no answer. Her feminine instinct had, 
indeed, told her that she was an object of admiration with 
the quartermaster, though she had hardly supposed to the 
extent that Jasper believed: and she, too, had even gath- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


217 


ered from the discourse of her father that he thought 
seriously of having her disposed of in marriage, but by no 
process of reasoning could she have ever arrived at the 
inference that Mr. Muir was to be the man. She did not 
believe it now — though she was far from suspecting the 
truth. Indeed it was her opinion that the casual remarks 
of her father which had struck her had proceeded from a 
general wish to have her settled, rather than from any de- 
sire to see her united to any particular individual. These 
thoughts, however, she kept secret, for self-respect and 
feminine reserve showed her the impropriety of making 
them the subject of discussion with her present compan- 
ion. By way of changing the conversation, therefore, 
after the pause had lasted long enough to be embarrassing 
to both parties, she said: 

“Of one thing you may be certain, Jasper, and that is 
all I wish to say on the subject: Lieutenant Muir, though 
he were a colonel, will never be ashamed of Mabel Dun- 
ham. And now, tell me of your voyage — when will it 
end ? ” 

“ That is uncertain. Once afloat, we are at the mercy 
of the winds and waves. Pathfinder will tell you that he 
who begins to chase the deer in the morning cannot tell 
where he will sleep at night.” 

“But we are not chasing a deer, nor is it morning; so 
Pathfinder’s moral is thrown away.” 

“ Although we are not chasing a deer, we are after that 
which may be as hard to catch. I can tell you no more 
than I have said already; for it is our duty to be close- 
mouthed, whether anything depends on it or not. I am 
afraid, however, I shall not keep you long enough in the 
Scua to show you what she can do in fair and foul.” 

“I think a woman unwise who ever marries a sailor,” 
said Mabel, abruptly and almost involuntarily. 

“ This is a strange opinion ; why do you hold it ? ” 

“Because a sailor’s wife is certain to have a rival in his 
vessel. My uncle Cap, too, says that a sailor should never 
marry.” 

“ He means salt-water sailors,” returned Jasper, laugh- 
ing. “ If he thinks wives not good enough for those who 
sail on the ocean, he will fancy them just suited to those 
who sail on the lakes. I hope, Mabel, you do not take 


2i8 


THE PATHFINDER. 


your opinions of us fresh-water mariners from all that 
Master Cap says.” 

“ Sail, ho! ” exclaimed the very individual of whom they 
were conversing — “ or boat, ho ! would be nearer the truth. ” 

Jasper ran forward; and sure enough, a small object 
was discernible about a hundred yards ahead of the cutter, 
and nearly on her lee bow. At the first glance he saw it 
was a bark canoe; for though the darkness prevented hues 
from being distinguished, the eye that had got accustomed 
to the night might discern forms at some little distance ; and 
the eye which, like Jasper’s, had long been familiar with 
things aquatic could not be at a loss in discovering the 
outlines necessary to come to the conclusion that he did. 

“This may be an enemy,” the young man remarked; 
“and it may be well to overhaul him.” 

“He is paddling with all his might, lad,” observed the 
Pathfinder, “ and means to cross your bows and get to 
windward, when you might as well chase a full-grown 
buck on snowshoes.” 

“Let her luff!” cried Jasper to the man at the helm. 
Luff up till she shakes — there, steady, and hold all that.” 

The helmsman complied, and as the Scud was now dash- 
ing the water aside merrily, a minute or two put the canoe 
so far to leeward as to render escape impracticable. Jas- 
per now sprang to the helm himself, and by judicious and 
careful handling he got so near his chase that it was se- 
cured by a boathook. On receiving an order, the two 
persons who were in the canoe left it, and no sooner had 
they reached the deck of the cutter than they were found 
to be Arrowhead and his wife. 


CHAPTER XV. 

“ What pearl is it that rich men cannot buy, 

That learning is too proud to gather up ; 

But which the poor and the despised of all 
Seek and obtain, and often find unsought? 

Tell me — and I will tell thee what is truth.” — C owper. 

The meeting with the Indian and his wife excited no 
surprise in the majority of those who witnessed the occur- 
rence; but Mabel, and all who knew of the manner ia 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2 T9 

which this chief had been separated from the party of 
Cap, simultaneously entertained suspicions, which it was 
far easier to feel than to follow out by any plausible clew 
to certainty. Pathfinder, who alone could converse freely 
with the prisoners — for such they might now be considered 
— took Arrowhead aside and held a long conversation with 
him concerning the reasons of the latter for having de- 
serted his charge, and the manner in which he had been 
since employed. 

The Tuscarora met these inquiries, and he gave his an- 
swers, with the stoicism of an Indian. As respects the 
separation, his excuses were very simply made, and they 
seemed to be sufficiently plausible. When he found that 
the party was discovered in its place of concealment, he 
naturally sought his own safety, which he secured by 
plunging into the woods, for he made no doubt that all 
who could not effect this much would be massacred on the 
spot. In a word, he had run away in order to save his life. 

“This is well,” returned Pathfinder, affecting to believe 
the other’s apologies; “ my brother did very wisely: but 
his woman followed ? ” 

“ Do not the pale-faces’ women follow their husbands ? 
Would not the Pathfinder have looked back to see if one 
he loved was coming ? ” 

This appeal was made to the guide while he was in a most 
fortunate frame of mind to admit its force; for Mabel and 
her blandishments and constancy were getting to be im- 
ages familiar to his thoughts. The Tuscarora, though he 
could not trace the reason, saw that his excuse was ad- 
mitted, and he stood, with quiet dignity, awaiting the next 
inquiry. 

“This is reasonable and nat’ral,” returned Pathfinder, 
in English, passing from one language to the other in- 
sensibly to himself, as his feelings or habits dictated — - 
“ this is nat’ral and may be so. A woman would be likely 
to follow the man to whom she had plighted faith, and 
husband and wife are one flesh. Mabel, herself, would 
have been likely to follow the sergeant, had he been pres- 
ent, and retreated in this manner; and, no doubt, no 
doubt, the warm-hearted girl would have followed her 
husband! Your words are honest, Tuscarora,” changing 
the language to the dialect of the other. “Your words 


220 


THE PATHFINDER. 


are honest, and very pleasant, and just. But why has my 
brother been so long from the fort ? — his friends have 
thought of him often, but have never seen him! ” 

44 If the doe follows the buck, ought not the buck to 
follow the doe?” answered the Tuscarora, smiling, and 
laying a finger significantly on the shoulder of his interro- 
gator. “Arrowhead’s wife followed Arrowhead; it was 
right in Arrowhead to follow his wife. She lost her way, 
and they made her cook in a strange wigwam,” 

“I understand you, Tuscarora. The woman fell into 
the hands of the Mingoes, and you kept upon their trail.” 

44 Pathfinder can see a reason as easily as he can see the 
moss on the trees. It is so.” 

44 And how long have you got the woman back, and in 
what manner has it been done ? ” 

44 Two suns. The Dew-of-June was not long in coming, 
when her husband whispered to her the path.” 

“Well, well, all this seems nat’ral, and according to 
matrimony. But, Tuscarora, how did you get that canoe, 
and why are you paddling toward the St. Lawrence instead 
of the garrison ? ” 

44 Arrowhead can tell his own from that of another. 
This canoe is mine; I found it on the shore near the fort.” 

44 That sounds reasonable, too, for the canoe does belong 
to the man, and an Injin would make few words about 
taking it. Still, it is extra’ord’nary that we saw nothing 
of the fellow and his wife, for the canoe must have left 
the river before we did ourselves.” 

This idea, which passed rapidly through the mind of 
the guide, was now put to the Indian in the shape of a 
question. 

44 Pathfinder knows that a warrior can have shame. The 
father would have asked me for his daughter, and I could 
not give her to him. I sent the Dew-of-June for the 
canoe, and no one spoke to the woman. A Tuscarora 
woman would not be free in speaking to strange men.” 

All this, too, was plausible, and in conformity with In- 
dian character and Indian customs. As was usual, Arrow- 
head had received one-half of his compensation previously 
to quitting the Mohawk ; and his refraining to demand the 
residue was a proof of that conscientious consideration of 
mutual rights that quite as often distinguishes the morality 


THE PATHFINDER. 


221 


of a savage as that of a Christian. To one as upright as 
Pathfinder, Arrowhead had conducted himself with deli- 
cacy and propriety, though it would have been more in 
accordance with his own frank nature to have met the 
father and abided by the simple truth. Still, accustomed 
to the ways of Indians, he saw nothing out of the ordinary 
track of things in the course the other had taken. 

“ This runs like water flowing down the hill, Arrow- 
head,” he answered, after a little reflection, “and truth 
obliges me to own it. It was the gift of a red-skin to act 
in this way, though I do not think it was the gift of a 
pale-face. You would not look upon the grief of the 
girl’s father.” 

Arrowhead made a quiet inclination of the body, as if 
to assent. 

“ One thing more my brother will tell me,” continued 
Pathfinder, “ and there will be no cloud between his wig- 
wam and the strong house of the Yengeese. If he can 
blow away this bit of fog, his friends will look at him, as 
he sits by his own fire, and he can look at them, as they 
lay aside their arms, and forget that they are warriors. 
Why was the head of Arrowhead’s canoe looking toward 
the St. Lawrence, where there are none but enemies to be 
found ? ” 

“ Why were the Pathfinder and his friends looking the 
same way ? ” asked the Tuscarora, calmly. “ A Tuscarora 
may look in the same direction as a Yengeese.” 

“ Why, to own the truth, Arrowhead, we are out scout- 
ing-like — that is, sailin’ ; in other words, we are on the 
kings’s business, and we have a right to be here, though 
we may not have the right to say why we are here.” 

“ Arrowhead saw the big canoe, and he loves to look on 
the face of Eau-douce. He was going toward the sun at 
evening, in order to seek his wigwam; but, finding that 
the young sailor was going the other way, he turned that 
he might look in the same direction. Eau-douce and Ar- 
rowhead were together on the last trail.” 

“ This may all be true, Tuscarora, and you are welcome. 
You shall eat of our venison, and then we must separate. 
The setting sun is behind us, and both of us move quick: 
my brother will get too far from that which he seeks, un- 
less he turns round/® 


222 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Pathfinder now returned to the others, and repeated the 
result of his examination. He appeared, himself, to believe 
that the account of Arrowhead might be true, although 
he admitted that caution would be prudent with one he 
disliked; but his auditors, Jasper excepted, seemed less 
disposed to put faith in the explanations. 

“ This chap must be ironed at once, Brother Dunham,” 
said Cap, as soon as the Pathfinder finished his narration; 
“ he must be turned over to the master-at-arms, if there is 
any such officer on fresh water, and a court-martial ought 
to be ordered as soon as we reach port.” 

“I think it wisest to detain the fellow,” the sergeant 
answered, “ but irons are unnecessary so long as he re- 
mains in the cutter. In the morning the matter shall be 
inquired into.” 

Arrowhead was now summoned and told the decision. 
The Indian listened gravely and made no objections. On 
the contrary, he submitted with the calm and reserved 
dignity with which the American aborigines are known to 
yield to fate; and he stood apart, an attentive but calm 
observer of what was passing. Jasper caused the cutter’s 
sails to be filled, and the Scud resumed her course* 

It was now getting toward the hour to set the watch, 
and when it was usual to retire for the night. Most of 
the party went below, leaving no one on deck but Cap, 
the sergeant, Jasper, and two of the crew. Arrowhead 
and his wife also remained, the former standing aloof in 
proud reserve, and the latter exhibiting, by her attitude 
and passiveness, the meek humility that characterizes an 
Indian woman. 

“You will find a place for your wife below, Arrowhead, 
where my daughter will attend to her wants,” said the 
sergeant kindly, who was himself on the point of quit- 
ting the deck ; “ yonder is a sail, where you may sleep, 
yourself. ” 

“I thank my father. The Tuscaroras are not poor. 
The woman will look for my blankets in the canoe.” 

“As you wish, my friend. We think it necessary to 
detain you, but not necessary to confine or to maltreat 
you. Send your squaw into the canoe for the blankets, 
and you may follow her yourself, and hand us up the pad- 
dles. As there may be some sieepy-heads in the Scud n 


THE PATHFINDER. 223 

Eau-douce, ” said the sergeant, in a lower tone, “ it may 
be well to secure the paddles.” 

Jasper assented, and Arrowhead and his wife, with 
whom resistance appeared to be out of the question, si- 
lently complied with the directions. A few expressions 
of sharp rebuke passed from the Indian to his wife while 
both were employed in the canoe, which the latter received 
with submissive quiet, immediately repairing an error she 
had made, by laying aside the blanket she had taken, and 
searching another that was more to her tyrant’s mind. 

“Come, bear a hand, Arrowhead,” said the sergeant, 
who stood on the gunwale, overlooking the movements of 
the two, which were proceeding too slowly for the impa- 
tience of a drowsy man. “ It is getting late; and we sol- 
diers have such a thing as reveille — early to bed and early 
to rise.” 

“Arrowhead is coming,” was the answer, as the Tusca- 
rora stepped toward the head of his canoe. 

One blow of his keen knife severed the rope which held 
the boat, when the cutter glanced ahead, leaving the light 
bubble of bark, which instantly lost its way, almost sta- 
tionary. So suddenly and dexterously was this manoeuvre 
performed that the canoe was on the lee quarter of the 
Scud before the sergeant was aware of the artifice, and 
quite in her wake ere he had time to announce it to his 
companions. 

“ Hard a-lee! ” shouted Jasper, letting fly the jib-sheet 
with his own hands when the cutter came swiftly up to 
the breeze with all her canvas flapping, or was running 
into the wind’s eye as seamen term it, until the light craft 
was a hundred feet to windward of her former position. 
Quick and dexterous as was this movement, and ready as 
had been the expedient, it was not quicker or more ready 
than that of the Tuscarora. With an intelligence that de- 
noted some familiarity with vessels, he had seized his paddle, 
and was already skimming the water, aided by the efforts 
of his wife. The direction he took was southwesterly, or 
on a line that led him equally toward the wind and the 
shore, while it also kept him so far aloof from the cutter 
as to avoid the danger of the latter’s falling on board of 
him when she filled on the other tack. Swiftly as the Scud 
had shot into the wind, and far as she had forged ahead, 


224 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Jasper knew it was necessary to cast her, ere she had lost 
all her way; and it was not two minutes from the time the 
helm had been put down, before the lively little craft was 
aback forward, and rapidly falling off, in order to allow 
her sails to fill in the opposite tack. 

“ He will escape! ” said Jasper, the instant he caught a 
glimpse of the relative bearings of the cutter and the 
canoe. “ The cunning knave is paddling dead to wind* 
ward, and the Scud can never overtake him! ” 

“You have a canoe !” exclaimed the sergeant, mani- 
festing the eagerness of a boy to join in the pursuit; “ let 
us launch it and give chase! ” 

“’Twill be useless. If Pathfinder had been on deck 
there might have been a chance, but there is none now. 
To launch the canoe would have taken three or four min- 
utes, and the time lost would have been sufficient for the 
purpose of Arrowhead.” 

Both Cap and the sergeant saw the truth of this, which 
would have been nearly self-evident even to one unaccus- 
tomed to vessels. The shore was distant less than half a 
mile, and the canoe was already glancing into its shadows 
at a rate to show that it would reach the land ere its pur- 
suers could probably get half the distance. The canoe 
itself could be seized, but it would have been a useless 
prize: for Arrowhead in the woods would be more likely 
to reach the other shore without detection than if he still 
possessed the means to venture on the lake again; though 
it might be, and probably would be, a greater bodily labor 
to himself. The helm of the Scud was reluctantly put up 
again, and the cutter wore short round on her heel, com- 
ing up to her course on the other tack as if acting on in- 
stinct. All this was done by Jasper in profound silence, 
his assistants understanding what was necessary, and lend- 
ing their aid in a sort of mechanical imitation. While 
these manoeuvres were in the course of execution, Cap 
took the sergeant by the button and led him toward the 
cabin door, where he was out of ear-shot, and began to 
unlock his stores of thought. 

“ Harkee, Brother Dunham,” he said, with an ominous 
face, “ this is a matter that requires mature thought and 
much circumspection.” 

“ The life of a soldier, Brother Cap, is one of constant 


THE PATHFINDER. 


^25 

thought and circumspection. On the frontier, were we to 
overlook either, our scalps might be taken from our heads 
in the first nap.” 

“ But I consider this capture of Arrowhead as a circum- 
stance — and, I might add, his escape as another. This 
Jasper Fresh-water must look to it! ” 

“ They are both circumstances, truly, brother; but they 
tell different ways. If it is a circumstance against the lad 
that the Indian had escaped, it is a circumstance in his 
favor that he was first taken.” 

, “ Ay, ay, but two circumstances do not contradict each 

other like two negatives. If you will follow the advice, 
of an old seamen, sergeant, not a moment is to be lost in 
taking the steps necessary for the security of the vessel 
and all on board of her. The cutter is now slipping 
through the water at the rate of six knots, and, as the 
distances are so short on this bit of a pond, we may all find 
ourselves in a French port before morning, and in a French 
prison before night.” 

“ This may be true enough; what would you advise me 
to do, brother ? ” 

u In my opinion, you should put this Master Fresh-water 
under arrest on the spot, send him below under the charge 
of a sentinel, and transfer the command of the cutter to 
me. All this you have poWer to perform, the craft be- 
longing to the army, and you being the commanding officer 
of the troops present.” 

Sergeant Dunham deliberated more than an hour on the 
propriety of this proposal; for, though sufficiently prompt 
when his mind was really made up, he was habitually 
thoughtful and wary. The habit of superintending the 
personal police of the garrison had made him acquainted 
with character, and he had long been disposed to think 
well of Jasper. Still, that subtle poison, suspicion, had 
entered his soul, and so much were the artifices and in- 
trigues of the French dreaded that, especially warned as 
he had been by his commander, it is not to be wondered 
the. recollection of years of good conduct should vanish 
under the influence of a distrust so keen and seemingly 
plausible. In this embarrassment the sergeant consulted 
the quartermaster, whose opinion, as his superior, he felt 
bound to respect, though, at the moment, independent o i 
I S 


226 


THE PATHFINDER. 


nis control. It is an unfortunate occurrence, for one who 
is in a dilemma, to ask advice of another who is desirous 
of standing well in his favor, the party consulted being 
almost certain to try to think in the manner which will be 
the most agreeable to the party consulting. In the pres- 
ent instance it was equally unfortunate, as respects a can- 
did consideration of the subject, that Cap, instead of the 
sergeant himself, made the statement of the case; for the 
earnest old sailor was not backward in letting his listener 
perceive to which side he was desirous that the quarter- 
master should lean. Lieutenant Muir was much too polite 
to offend the uncle and father of the woman he hoped 
and expected to win, had he really thought the case ad- 
mitted of doubt; but, in the manner in which the facts 
were submitted to him, he was seriously inclined to think 
that it would be well to put the control of the Scud tem- 
porarily into the management of Cap, as a precaution 
against treachery. This opinion then decided the sergeant, 
who forthwith set about the execution of the necessary 
measures. 

Without entering into any explanations, Sergeant Dun- 
ham simply informed Jasper that he felt it to be his duty 
to deprive him, temporarily, of the command of the cutter, 
and to confer it on his own brother-in-law. A natural and 
involuntary burst of surprise which escaped the young 
man was met by a quiet remark reminding him that mili- 
tary service was often of a nature that required conceal- 
ment, and a declaration that the present duty was of such 
a character that this particular arrangement had become 
indispensable. Although Jasper’s astonishment remained 
undiminished — the sergeant cautiously abstaining from 
making any allusion to his suspicions — the young man was 
accustomed to obey with military submission and he 
quietly acquiesced — with his own mouth directing the little 
crew to receive their further orders from Cap until another 
change should be effected. When, however, he was told 
the case required that not only he himself, but his princi- 
pal assistant, who, on account of his long acquaintance 
with the lake, was usually termed the pilot, were to remain 
below, there was an alteration in his countenance and man- 
ner that denoted deep mortification, though it was so well 
mastered as to leave even the distrustful Cap in doubt as 


THE PATHFINDER. 


227 


to its meaning. As a matter of course, however, when 
distrust exists, it was not long before the worst construc- 
tion was put upon it. 

As soon as Jasper and the pilot were below, the sentinel 
at the hatch received private orders to pay particular at- 
tention to both; to allow neither to come on deck again 
without giving instant notice to the person who might then 
be in charge of the cutter, and to insist on his return below 
as soon as possible. This precaution, however, was un- 
called for, Jasper and his assistant both throwing them- 
selves silently on their pallets, which neither quitted again 
that night. 

“ And now, sergeant,” said Cap, as soon as he found 
himself master of the deck, “you will just have the good- 
ness to give me the courses and distances, that I may see 
the boat keeps her head the right way.” 

“ I know nothing of either, Brother Cap,” returned Dun- 
ham, not a little embarrassed at the question. “We must 
make the best of our way to the station among the Thou- 
sand Islands, ‘ where we shall land, relieve the party that 
is already out, and get information for our future govern- 
ment. ’ That’s it, nearly word for word, as it stands in the 
written orders.” 

“ But you can muster a chart — something in the way of 
bearings and distances — that I may see the road ? ” 

“ I do not think Jasper ever had anything of the sort to 
go by.” 

“No chart, Sergeant Dunham! ” 

“Not a scrap of a pen even. Our sailors navigate this 
lake without any aid from maps.” 

“The devil they do! They must be regular Yahoos. 
And do you suppose, Sergeant Dunham, that I can find 
one island out of a thousand without knowing its name or 
its position — without even a course or a distance ? ” 

“ As for the name , brother Cap, you need not be particu- 
lar, for not one of the whole thousand has a name, and so 
a mistake can never be made on that score. As for the 
position, never having been there myself, I can tell you 
nothing about it, nor do I think its position of any par- 
ticular consequence, provided we find the spot. Perhaps 
one of the hands on deck can tell you the way.” 

“ Hold on ? sergeant — hold on a moment, if you please, 


228 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Sergeant Dunham. If I am to command this craft, it 
must be done, if you please, without holding any councils 
of war with the cook and cabin-boy. A shipmaster is a 
shipmaster, and he must have an opinion of his own, even 
if it be a wrong one. I suppose you know service well 
enough to understand that it is better in a commander to 
go wrong than to go nowhere. At all events, the lord 
high admiral couldn’t command a yawl with dignity if he 
consulted the coxswain every time he wished to go ashore. 
No — sir — if I sink, I sink; but, d e, I’ll go down ship- 

shape and with dignity.” 

“ But, Brother Cap, I have no wish to go down anywhere, 
unless it be to the station among the Thousand Islands 
whither we are bound.” 

“Well, well, sergeant, rather than ask advice — that is, 
direct barefaced advice — of a foremast hand, or any other 
than a quarter-deck officer, I would go round to the whole 
thousand and examine them one by one until we get the 
right haven. But, there is such a thing as coming at an 
opinion without manifesting ignorance, and I will manage 
to rouse all there is out of these hands, and make them 
think, all the while, that I am cramming them with my own 
experience. We are sometimes obliged to use the glass 
at sea when there is nothing in sight, or to heave the lead 
long before we strike soundings. I suppose you know in 
the army, sergeant, that the next thing to knowing that 
which is desirable is to seem to know all about it. When 
a youngster, I sailed two v’y’ges with a man who navigated 
his ship pretty much by the latter sort of information, 
which sometimes answers.” 

“ I know we are steering in the right direction at pres- 
ent,” returned the sergeant, “but in the course of a few 
hours we shall be up with a headland, where we must feel 
our way with more caution.” 

“ Leave me to pump the man at the wheel, brother, and 
you shall see that I will make him suck in a very few 
minutes.” 

Cap and the sergeant now walked aft until they stood 
by the sailor who was at the helm, Cap maintaining an air 
of security and tranquillity, like one who was entirely con- 
fident of his own powers. 

“ This is a wholesome air, my lad,” Cap observed, as it 


THE PATHFINDER. 


229 

might be incidentally, and in a manner that a superior on 
board a vessel sometimes condescends to use to a favorite 
inferior. “ Of course you have it in this fashion, off the 
land, every night ? ” 

“At this season of the year, sir,” the man returned, 
touching his hat, out of respect to his new commander 
and Sergeant Dunham’s connection. 

“ The same thing, I take it, among the Thousand Isl- 
ands ? The wind will stand, of course, though we shall 
then have land on every side of us.” 

“When we get farther east, sir, the wind will probably 
shift, for there can then be no particular land breeze.” 

“ Ay, ay — so much for your fresh water! It has always 
some trick that is opposed to nature. Now, down among 
the West India Islands, one is just as certain of having a 
land breeze as he is of having a sea breeze. In that re- 
spect there is no difference, though it’s quite in rule it 
should be different up here, on this bit of fresh water. 
Of course, my lad, you know all about these Thousand 
Islands ? ” 

“ Lord bless you, Master Cap, nobody knows all about 
them, nor anything about them. They are a puzzle to 
the oldest sailor on the lake, and we don’t pretend to 
know even their names. For that matter, most of them 
have no more names than a child that dies before it is 
christened.” 

“ Are you a Roman Catholic ? ” demanded the sergeant, 
sharply. 

“ No, sir, nor anything else; I’m a generalizer about re- 
ligion, never troubling that which don’t trouble me.” 

“ Hum! a generalizer; that is, no doubt, one of the new 
sects that afflict the country!” muttered Mr. Dunham, 
whose grandfather had been a New Jersey Quaker, his 
father a Presbyterian, and who had joined the Church of 
England, himself, after he entered the army. 

“ I take it, John,” resumed Cap — “ your name is Jack, I 
believe ? ” 

“ No, sir; I am called Robert.” 

“Ah, Robert — it’s very much the same thing — Jack or 
Bob — we use the two indifferently. I say, Bob, it’s good 
holding-ground, is it, down at the same station for which 
we are bound ? ” 


23 ° 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Bless you, sir, I know no more about it than one of 
the Mohawks or a soldier of the 55th.” 

“ Did you never anchor there ? ” 

“ Never, sir. Master Eau-douce always makes fast to 
the shore.” 

“ But in running in for the town, you kept the lead 
going, out of question, and must have tallowed as usual ? ” 

“Tallow! and town, too! Bless your heart, Master 
Cap, there is no more town than there is on your chin, and 
not half as much tallow.” 

The sergeant smiled grimly, but his brother-in-law did 
not detect this proof of facetiousness. 

“No church-tower, nor light, nor fort, ha! There is a 
garrison, as you call it here-away, at least ? ” 

“Ask Sergeant Dunham, sir, if you wish to know that! 
All the garrison is on board the Scud." 

“ But, in running in, Bob, which of the channels do you 
think the best, the one you went last, or — or — or — ay, or 
the other?” 

“ I can’t say, sir. I know nothing of either.” 

“ You didn’t go to sleep, fellow, at the wheel, did you ? ” 

“ Not at the wheel sir, but down in the fore-peak, in 
my berth. Eau-douce sent us below, so’gers and all, with 
the exception of the pilot, and we know no more of the 
road than if we had never been over it. This he has 
always done, in going in and coming out; and, for the 
life of me, I could tell you nothing of the channel or of 
the course after we are once fairly up with the islands. 
No one knows anything of either, but Jasper and the 
pilot.” 

“Here is a circumstance for you, sergeant!” said Cap, 
leading his brother-in-law a little way aside; “there is no 
one on board to pump, for they all suck from ignorance 
at the first stroke of the brake. How the devil am I to 
find the way to this station?” 

“ Sure enough, Brother Cap ; your question is more easily 
put than answered. Is there no such thing as figuring it 
out by navigation? I thought you salt-water mariners were 
able to do as small a thing as that! I have often read 
of their discovering islands, surely.” 

“That you have, brother — that you have; and this dis- 
covery would be the greatest of them all, for it would not 


THE PATHFINDER. 


231 


only be discovering one island, but one island out or a thou- 
sand. I might make out to pick up a single needle on this 
deck, old as I am; but I must doubt if I could pick one 
out of a haystack.” 

“ Still, the sailors of the lake have a method of finding 
the places they wish to go to.” 

“ If I have understood you, Sergeant Dunham, this sta- 
tion or block-house is particularly private?” 

“It is, indeed; the utmost care having been taken to 
prevent a knowledge of its position reaching the enemy.” 

“ And you expect me, a stranger on your lake, to find 
this place without chart, course, distance, latitude, longi- 
tude, or soundings — ay, d e, or tallow! Allow me to 

ask if you think a mariner runs by his nose, like one of 
Pathfinder’s hounds?” 

“Well, brother, you may yet learn something by ques- 
tioning the young man at the helm; I can hardly think 
that he is as ignorant as he pretends to be.” 

“ Hum — this looks like another circumstance ! For that 
matter, the case is getting to be so full of circumstances 
that one hardly knows how to foot up the evidence. But 
we will soon see how much the lad knows.” 

Cap and the sergeant now returned to their station 
near the helm, and the former renewed his inquiries. 

“ Do you happen to know what may be the latitude and 
longitude of this said island, my lad? ” he asked. 

“ The what, sir ? ” 

“Why, the latitude or longitude; one or both — I’m 
not particular which, as I merely inquire to see how they 
bring up young men on this bit of fresh water. ” 

“I’m not particular about either, myself, sir; and sol 
do not happen to know what you mean.” 

“ Not know what I mean ! — You know what latitude is? ’ 

“Not I, sir,” returned the man, hesitating, “though I 
believe it is French for the Upper Lakes.” 

“Whe-e-e-w!” whistled Cap, drawing out his breath 
like the broken stop of an organ; “latitude French for 
Upper Lakes! Harkee, young man; do you know what 
longitude means?” 

“ I believe I do, sir — that is, five feet six, the regulation 
height for soldiers in the king’s service.” 

“ There’s the longitude found out for you, sergeant, in 


THE PATHFINDER. 


232 

the rattling of a brace-block! You have some notion 
about a degree and minutes and seconds, I hope ? ” 

“ Yes, sir; degree means my betters, and minutes and 
seconds are for the short or long log-lines. We all know 
these things as well as the salt-water people.” 

“ D e, Brother Dunham, if I think even faith can 

get along on this lake, much as they say it can do with 
mountains. I’m sure character is in no security. Well, 
my lad, you understand the azimuth, and measuring dis- 
tances, and how to box the compass ? ” 

“ As for the first, sir, I can’t say I do. The distances 
we all know, as we measure them from point to point; and 
as for boxing the compass, I will turn my back to no ad- 
miral in his Majesty’s fleet. Nothe-nothe and by east, 
nothe-nothe-east, nothe-east and nothe, nothe-east ; nothe- 
east and by east, east-nothe-east, east-and-by-nothe, 
east ” 

“ That will do — that will do. You’ll bring about a shift 
of wind if you go on in this manner. I see very plainly, 
sergeant,” walking away again, and dropping his voice, 
“ we’ve nothing to hope for from that chap. I’ll stand 
on two hours longer on this tack, when we’ll heave-to 
and get the soundings; after which we will be governed 
by circumstances.” 

To this the sergeant, who, to coin a word, was very 
much of an idiosyncratist, made no objections; and, as 
the wind grew lighter, as usual with the advance of night, 
and there were no immediate obstacles to the navigation, 
he made a bed of a sail, on deck, and was soon lost in the 
sound sleep of a soldier. Cap continued to walk the deck, 
for he was one whose iron frame set fatigue at defiance, 
and not once that night did he close his eyes. 

It was broad daylight when Sergeant Dunham awoke, 
and the exclamation of surprise that escaped him as he rose 
to his feet and began to look about him was stronger 
than it was usual for one so drilled to suffer to be heard. 
He found the weather entirely changed, the view bounded 
by driving mist that limited the visible horizon to a circle 
of about a mile in diameter, the lake raging and covered 
with foam, and the Scud lying-to. A brief conversation 
with his brother-in-Dw let him into the secrets of all these 
sudden changes. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


*33 


According to the account of Master Cap, the wind had 
died away to a calm about midnight, or just as he was 
thinking of heaving-to, to sound, for islands ahead were 
beginning to be seen. At one a.m. it began to blow from 
the northeast, accompanied by a drizzle, and he stood off 
to the northward and westward, knowing that the coast 
of New York lay in the opposite direction. At half-past 
one he stowed the staysail, reefed the mainsail, and took 
the bonnet off the jib. At two he was compelled to get a 
second reef aft; and by half-past two he had put a balance 
reef in the sail, and was lying-to. 

“I can’t say but the boat behaves well, sergeant,” the 
old sailor added; “but it blows forty-two-pounders! I 
had no idee there were any such currents of air up here 
on this bit of fresh water, though I care not the knotting 
of a yarn for it, as your lake has now somewhat of a nat- 
ural look, and ” — spitting from his mouth with distaste a 
dash of the spray that had just wetted his face — “ and if 

this d d water had a savor of salt about it, one might 

be comfortable.” 

“ How long have you been heading in this direction, 
Brother Cap ? ” inquired the prudent soldier, “ and at what 
rate may we be going through the water ? ” 

“Why, two or three hours, mayhap, and she went like a 
horse for the first pair of them. Oh! we’ve a new offing, 
now, for, to own the truth, little relishing the neighbor- 
hood of them said islands, although they are to windward, 
I took the helm myself, and run her off free for some 
league or two. We are well to leeward of them, I’ll en- 
gage. I say to leeward, for, though one might wish to 
be well to windward of one island, or even half a dozen, 
when it comes to a thousand the better way is to give it 
up at once, and to slide down under their lee as fast as pos- 
sible. No — no — there they are, up yonder in the drizzle — 
and there they may stay, for anything Charles Cap cares.” 

“ As the north shore lies only some five or six leagues 
from us, brother, and I know there is a large bay in that 
quarter, might it not be well to consult some of the crew 
concerning our position, if indeed we do not call up Jasper 
Eau-douce, and tell him to carry us back to Oswego ? It 
is quite impossible we should ever reach the station with 
this wind directly in our teeth.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


234 


“ Tnere are several serious professional reasons, sergeant* 
against all your propositions. In the first place, an ad- 
mission of ignorance on the part of a commander would 
destroy discipline. No matter, brother, I understand your 
shake of the head, but nothing capsizes discipline so much 
as to confess ignorance. I once knew a master of a vessel 
who went a’ week on a wrong course, rather than allow he 
had made a mistake; and it was surprising how much he 
rose in the opinions of his people, just because they could 
not understand him.” 

“That may do on salt water, Brother Cap; but it will 
hardly do on fresh. Rather than wreck my command on 
the Canada shore, I shall feel it my duty to take Jasper 
out of arrest.” 

“And make a haven in Frontenac! No, sergeant, the 
Scud is in good hands, and will now learn something of 
seamanship. We have a fine offing, and no one but a 
madman would think of going upon a coast in a gale like 
this. I shall wear every watch, and then we shall be safe 
against all dangers but those of the drift, which, in a light, 
low craft like this, without top hamper, will be next to 
nothing. Leave it all to me, sergeant, and I pledge you 
the character of Charles Cap that it will all go well.” 

Sergeant Dunham was fain to yield. He had great con- 
fidence in his connection’s skill, and hoped that he would 
take such care of the cutter as would amply justify his 
good opinion. On the other hand, as distrust, like love, 
grows by what it feeds on, he entertained so much appre- 
hension of treachery that he was quite willing any one but 
Jasper should just then have the control of the fate of 
the whole party. Truth, moreover, compels us to admit 
another motive. The particular duty on which he was 
now sent should have been confided to a commissioned 
officer, of right; and Major Duncan had excited a good 
deal of discontent among the subalterns of the garrison 
By having confided it to one of the sergeant’s humble 
station. To return without having even reached the point 
of destination, therefore, the latter felt would be a failure 
from which he was not likely soon to recover; and the 
measure would at once be the means of placing t ?_ superior 
in his shoes. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


*02 


CHAPTER XVI. 

' Thou glorious mirror where the Almighty’s form 
Glasses itself in tempests — in all time, 

Calm or convulsed — in breeze, or gale, or storm, 

Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime 

Dark heaving — boundless, endless, and sublime— 

The image of Eternity; the throne 
Of the Invisible : even from out thy slime 
The monsters of the deep are made ; each zone 
Obeys thee; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone/ 

— Byron. 

As the day advanced, that portion of the inmates of the 
vessel which had the liberty of doing so appeared on deck. 
And yet the sea was not very high, from which it was in- 
ferred that the cutter was still under the lee of the islands; 
but it was apparent to all who understood the lake that 
they were about to experience one of the heavy autumnal 
gales of that region. Land was nowhere visible ; and the 
horizon, on every side, exhibited that gloomy void which 
lends to all views on vast bodies of water the sublimity of 
mystery. The swells, or, as landsmen term them, the 
waves, were short and curling, breaking of necessity sooner 
than the longer seas of the ocean ; while the element itself, 
instead of presenting that beautiful hue which rivals the 
deep tint of the southern sky, looked green and angry, 
though wanting in the lustre that is derived from the rays 
of the sun. 

The soldiers were soon satisfied with the prospects, and 
one by one they disappeared, until none were left on deck 
but the crew, the sergeant, Cap, Pathfinder, the quarter- 
master, and Mabel. There was a shade on the brow of 
the latter, who had been made acquainted with the real 
state of things, and who had fruitlessly ventured an appeal 
in favor of Jasper’s restoration to the command. A night’s 
rest and a night’s reflection appeared also to have con- 
firmed the Pathfinder in his opinion of the young man’s 
innocence, and he, too, had made a warm appeal in behalf 
of his friend, though with the same want of success. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


236 

Several hours passed away, the wind gradually getting 
to be heavier, and the sea rising, until the motion of the 
cutter compelled Mabel and the quartermaster to retreat 
also. Cap swore several times; and it was now evident 
that the Scud was drifting into the broader and deeper 
parts of the lake, the seas raging down upon her in a way 
that none but a vessel of superior mould and build could 
have long ridden and withstood. All this, however, gave 
Cap no uneasiness; but like the hunter that pricks his ears 
at the sound of the horn, or the war-horse that paws and 
snorts with pleasure at the roll of the drum, the whole 
scene awakened all that was man within him; and instead 
of the captious, supercilious, and dogmatic critic quarrelling 
with trifles and exaggerating immaterial things, he began 
to exhibit the qualities of the hardy and experienced sea- 
man that he truly was. The hands soon imbibed a respect 
for his skill ; and though they wondered at the disappear- 
ance of their old commander and the pilot, of which no 
reason had been publicly given, they soon yielded an im- 
plicit and cheerful obedience to the new one. 

“ This bit of fresh water, after all, Brother Dunham, has 
some spirits, I find,” cried Cap, about noon, rubbing his 
hands in pure satisfaction at finding himself once more 
wrestling with the elements. “ The wind seems to be an 
honest, old-fashioned gale, and the seas have a fanciful 
resemblance to those of the Gulf Stream. I like this, ser- 
geant, I like this, and shall get to respect your lake if it 
hold out twenty-four hours longer in the fashion in which 
it has begun.” 

“ Land ho! ” shouted the man who was stationed on the 
forecastle. 

Cap hurried forward ; and there, sure enough, the land 
was visible through the drizzle, at the distance of about 
half a mile, the cutter heading directly toward it. The 
first impulse of the old seaman was to give an order to 
“ Stand by to wear off shore,” but the cool-headed sol- 
dier restrained him. 

“ By going a little nearer,” said the sergeant, “ some of 
us may recognize the place. Most of us know the Ameri- 
can shore in this part of the lake; and it will be something 
gained to learn our position.” 

“ Very true— very true; if, indeed, there is any chance 


THE PATHFINDER. 237 

of that, we will hold on. What is this off here, a little on 
our weatner bow ? It looks like a low headland.” 

“ The garrison, by Jove!” exclaimed the other, whose 
trained eye sooner recognized the military outlines than 
the less instructed senses of his connection. 

The sergeant was not mistaken. There was the fort, 
sure enough, though it looked dim and indistinct through 
the fine rain, as if it were seen in the dusk of evening or 
the haze of morning. The low, sodden, and verdant 
ramparts, the sombre palisades, now darker than ever with 
water, the roof of a house or two, the tall, solitary flag- 
staff with its halyards blown steadily out into a curve 
that appeared traced in immovable lines in the air, were 
all soon to be seen, though no sign of animated life could 
be discovered. Even the sentinel was housed ; and at first 
it was believed that no eye could detect the presence of 
their own vessel. But the unceasing vigilance of a border 
garrison did not slumber. One of the lookouts probably 
made the interesting discovery; a man or two were seen 
on some elevated stands, and then the entire ramparts, 
next the lake, were dotted with human beings. 

The whole scene was one in which sublimity was singu- 
larly relieved by the picturesque. The raging of the tem- 
pest had a character of duration that rendered it easy to 
imagine that it might be a permanent feature of the spot. 
The roar of the wind was without intermission, and the 
raging water answered to its dull but g r and strains with 
hissing spray, a menacing wash, and sullen surges. The 
drizzle made a medium for the eye which closely resem- 
bled that of a thin mist, softening and rendering mysteri- 
ous the images it revealed, while the genial feeling that 
is apt to accompany a gale of wind on water contributed 
to aid the milder influences of the moment. The dark, 
interminable forest hove up out of the obscurity, grand, 
sombre, and impressive; while the solitary, peculiar, and 
picturesque glimpses of life that were caught in and about 
the fort formed a refuge for the eye to retreat to when 
oppressed with the most imposing objects of nature. 

“They see us,” said the sergeant, “and think we have 
returned on account of the gale, and have fallen to lee- 
ward of the port. Yes, there is Major Duncan himself, 
on the northeastern bastion ; I know him by his height, 
and by the officers around him 1 


THE PATHFINDER. 


-38 

“ Sergeant, It would be worth standing a little jeering 
if we could fetch into the river, and come safely to an 
anchor! In that case, too, we might land this Master 
Oh !-the-cleuce and purify the boat.” 

“It would, indeed; but poor a sailor as I am, I well 
know it cannot be done. Nothing that sails the lake can 
turn to windward against this gale ; and there is no a 
chorage outside in weather like this.” 

“ I know it — I see it — sergeant, and pleasant as is that 
sight to you landsmen, we must leave it For myself, I 
am never as happy, in heavy weather, as when I am cer- 
tain that the land is behind me.” 

The Scud had now forged so near in that it became in- 
dispensable to lay 1 er head off-shore again, and the nec- 
essary orders were given. The storm-stavsail was set 
forward, the gaff lowered, the helm put up, and the light 
craft, that seemed to sport with the elements like a duck, 
fell off a little, drew ahead swiftly, obeyed her rudder, 
and was soon flying away on the top of the surges, dead 
before the gale. While making this rapid flight, though 
the land still remained in view on her larboard beam, the 
fort and the groups of anxious spectators on its ramparts 
were swallowed up in the mist. Then followed the evo- 
lutions necessary to bring the head of the cutter up to the 
wind, when she again began to wallow her weary way 
toward the north shore. 

Flours now passed before any further change was made, 
the wind increasing in force, until even the dogmatical 
Cap fairly admitted it was blowing a thorough gale of 
wind. About sunset the Scud wore again, to keep her off 
the horth shore during the hours of darkness; and at mid- 
night her temporary master, who, by questioning the crew 
in an indirect manner, had obtained some general knowl- 
edge of the size and shape of the lake, believed himself to 
be about midway between the two shores. The height 
and length of the seas aided this impression ; and it must 
be added that Cap, by this time, began to feel a respect 
for fresh water that twenty-four hours earlier he would 
have derided as impossible. Just as the night turned, the 
fury of the wind became so great that he found it impossi- 
ble to bear up against it, the water falling on the deck of 
me little craft in such masses as to cause her to shake to 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2 3 9 


the centre, and, though a vessel of singularly lively quali- 
ties, to threaten to bury her beneath its weight. The 
people of the Scud averred that never before had they 
been out in such a tempest, which was true; for, possess- 
ing a perfect knowledge of all the rivers and headlands 
and havens, Jasper would have carried the cutter in shore 
long ere this and placed her in safety in some secure an- 
chorage. But Cap still disdained to consult the young 
master, who continued below, determining to act like a 
mariner of the broad ocean. 

It was one in the morning when the storm-staysail was 
again got on the Scud , , the head of the mainsail lowered, 
and the cutter put before the wind. Although the canvas 
now exposed was merely a rag in surface, the little craft 
nobly justified the use of the name she bore. For eight 
hours did she scud, in truth; and it was almost with the 
velocity of the gulls that wheeled wildly over her in the 
tempest, apparently afraid to alight in the boiling caldron 
of the lake. The dawn of day brought little change: for 
no other horizon became visible than the narrow circle of 
drizzling sky and water already described, in which it 
seemed as if the elements were rioting in chaotic confu- 
sion. During this time the crew and passengers of the 
cutter were of necessity passive. Jasper and the pilot re- 
mained below; but the motion of the vessel having become 
easier, nearly all the rest were on deck. The morning 
meal had been taken in silence, and eye met eye as if their 
owners asked each other, in dumb show, what was to be 
the end of this strife in the elements. Cap, however, was 
perfectly composed, and his face brightened, his step grew 
firmer, and his whole air more assured as the storm in- 
creased, making larger demands on his professional skill 
and personal spirit. He stood on the forecastle, his arms 
crossed, balancing his body with a seaman’s instinct, while 
his eyes watched the caps of the seas as they broke and 
glanced past the reeling cutter, itself in such swift motion 
as if they were the scud flying athwart the sky. At this 
sublime instant one of the hands gave the unexpected cry 
of “ A sail ! ” 

There was so much of the wild and solitary character 
of the wilderness about Ontario that one scarcely expected 
to meet with a vessel on its waters. The Scud herself, to 


240 


THE PATHFINDER. 


those who were in her, resembled a man threading the 
forest alone, and the meeting was like that of two solitary 
hunters beneath the broad canopy of leaves that then cov- 
ered so many millions of acres on the continent of America. 
The peculiar state of the weather served to increase the 
romantic, almost supernatural appearance of the passage. 
Cap alone regarded it with practiced eyes, and even he 
felt his iron nerves thrill under the sensations that were 
awakened by the wild features of the scene. 

The strange vessel was about two cables’ length ahead 
of the Scud, standing by the wind athwart her bows, and 
steering a course to render it probable that the latter would 
pass within a few yards of her. She was a full-rigged ship ; 
and, seen through the misty medium of the tempest, the 
most experienced eye could detect no imperfection in her 
gear or construction. The only canvas she had set was a 
close-reefed main-topsail and two small storm-staysails, 
one forward and the other aft. Still, the power of the 
wind pressed so hard upon her as to bear her down nearly 
to her beam-ends whenever the hull was not righted by 
the buoyancy of some wave under her lee. Her spars 
were all in their places; and by her motion through the 
water, which might have equalled four knots in the hour, 
it was apparent that she steered a little free. 

“ The fellow must know his position well,” said Cap, as 
the cutter flew down toward the ship with a velocity almost 
equalling that of the gale, “for he is standing boldly to 
the southward, where he expects to find anchorage or a 
haven. No man in his senses would run off free in that 
fashion that was not driven to scudding like ourselves, who 
did not perfectly understand where he was going.” 

“We have made an awful run, captain,” returned the 
man to whom this remark had been addressed. “ That is 
the French king’s ship Leemy-calm [Le Monicabri\, and she 
is standing in for the Niagara, where her owner has a 
garrison and a port. We’ve made an awful run of it.” 

“Ay, bad luck to him! Frenchman-like, he skulks into 
port the moment he sees an English bottom.” 

“It might be well for us if we could follow him,” re- 
turned the man, shaking his head despondingly, “for we 
are getting into the end of a bay up here at the heqd of 
the lake, and it is uncertain whether we ever get out of it 
again! ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


241 


“Pooh! man, pooh! We have plenty of sea-room and 
a good English hull beneath us. We are no Johnny Cra- 
pauds to hide ourselves behind a point or a fort on ac- 
count of a puff of wind. Mind your helm, sir! ” 

The order was given on account of the menacing ap- 
pearance of the approaching passage. The Scud was now 
heading directly for the forefoot of the Frenchman; and, 
the distance between the two vessels having diminished to 
a hundred yards, it was momentarily questionable if there 
were room to pass. 

“ Port; sir — port! ” shouted Cap. “ Port your helm and 
pass astern ! ” 

The crew of the Frenchman were seen assembling to 
windward, and a few muskets were pointed, as if to order 
the people of the Scud to keep off. Gesticulations were 
observed, but the sea was too wild and menacing to admit 
of the ordinary expedients of war. The water was drip- 
ping from the muzzles of two or three light guns on board 
the ship, but no one thought of loosening them for service 
in such a tempest. Her black sides, as they emerged from 
the wave, glistened and seemed to frown, but the wind 
howled through her rigging, whistling the thousand notes 
of a ship; and the hails and cries that escape a French- 
man with so much readiness were inaudible. 

“ Let him halloo himself hoarse! ” growled Cap. “ This 
is no weather to whisper secrets in — port, sir, port! ” 

The man at the helm obeyed, and the next send of the 
sea drove the Scud down upon the quarter of the ship, so 
near her that the old mariner himself recoiled a step, in a 
vague expectation that at the next surge ahead she would 
drive bows foremost into the planks of the other vessel. 
But this was not to be. Rising from the crouching pos- 
ture she had taken, like a panther about to leap, the cutter 
dashed onward, and at the next instant she was glancing 
past the stern of her enemy, just clearing the end of her 
spanker-boom with her own lower yard. 

The young Frenchman who commanded the Mo7itcalm 
leaped on the taffrail, and, with that high-toned courtesy 
which relieves the worst acts of his countrymen, he raised 
his cap, and smiled a salutation as the Scud shot past. 
There were bonhommie and good taste in this act of cour- 
tesy, when circumstances allowed of no other communi- 
16 


242 the pathfinder. 

cation, but they were lost on Cap, who, . ith cm instinct 
quite as true to his race, shook his fist menacingly, and 
muttered to himself : 

“ Ay — ay — it’s d d lucky for you I’ve no armaments 

on board here, or I’d send you in to get new cabin win- 
dows fitted! Sergeant, he’s a humbug.” 

“ ’Twas civil, Brother Cap,” returned the other, lower 
ing his hand from the military salute which his pride as a 
soldier had induced him to return — “ ’twas civil, and that’s 
as much as you can expect from a Frenchman. What he 
really meant by it, no one can say.” 

“ He is not heading up to this sea without an object, 
neither! Well, let him run in, if he can get there; we 
will keep the lake, like hearty English mariners.” 

This sounded gloriously, but Cap eyed with envy the 
glittering black mass of the Montcalm' s hull, her waving 
topsail, and the misty tracery of her spars, as she grew 
less and less distinct, and finally disappeared in the drizzle 
in a form as shadowy as that of some unreal image. 
Gladly would he have followed in her wake, had he dared; 
for, to own the truth, the prospect of another stormy night 
in the midst of the wild waters that were raging around 
him brought little consolation. Still, he had too much 
professional pride to betray his uneasiness, and those under 
his care relied on his knowledge and resources, with the 
implicit and blind confidence that the ignorant are apt to 
feel. 

A few hours succeeded, and darkness came again to in- 
crease the perils of the Scud. A lull in the gale, however, 
had induced Cap to come by the wind once more, and 
throughout the night the cutter was lying-to, as before, 
head-reaching as a matter of course, and occasionally 
wearing to keep off the land. It is unnecessary to dwell 
on the incidents of the night, which resembled those of 
any other gale of wind. There were the pitching of the 
vessel, the hissing of the waters, the dashing of spray, the 
shocks that menaced annihilation to the little craft as she 
plunged into the sea, the undying howlings of the wind, 
and the fearful drift. The last was the most serious dan- 
ger; for, though exceeding weatherly under her canvas, 
and totally without top-hamper, the Scud was so light 
that the combining of the swells would seem at -es to 


THE PATHFINDER. 


243 


wash her down to leeward with a velocity as great as that 
of the surges themselves. 

During this night Cap slept soundly and for several 
hours. The day was just dawning when he felt himself 
shaken by the shoulder, and arousing himself he found 
the Pathfinder standing at his side. During the gale, the 
guide had appeared little on deck, for his natural modesty 
told him that seamen alone should interfere with the man- 
agement of the vessel; and he was willing to show the 
same reliance on those who had charge of the Scud as he 
expected those who followed through the forest to mani- 
fest in his own skill. But he now thought himself justi- 
fied in interfering, which he did in his own unsophisticated 
and peculiar manner. 

“Sleep is sweet, Master Cap,” he said, as soon as the 
eyes of the latter were fairly open, and his consciousness 
had sufficiently returned — “ sleep is sweet, as I know, from 
experience, but life is sweeter still. Look about you, and 
say if this is exactly the moment for a commander to be 
off his feet.” 

“How now — how now, Master Pathfinder!” growled 
Cap, in the first moments of his awakened faculties; “are 
you, too, getting on the side of the grumblers ? Whin 
ashore, I admired your sagacity in running through the 
worst shoals without a compass, and, since we have been 
afloat, your meekness and submission have been as pleas- 
ant as your confidence on your own ground; I little ex- 
pected such a summons from you.” 

“ As for myself, Master Cap, I feel I have my gifts, and 
I believe they’ll interfere with those of no other man; but 
the case may be different with Mabel Dunham. She has 
her gifts, too, it is true; but they are not rude like ours, 
but gentle and womanish, as they ought to be. It’s on 
her account that I speak, and not on my own. ” 

“Ay — ay — I begin to understand. The girl is a good 
girl, my worthy friend, but she is a soldier’s daughter 
and a sailor’s niece, and ought not to be too tame or too 
tender in a gale. Does she show any fear ? ” 

“ Not she — not she. Mabel is a woman, but she is rea- 
sonable and silent. Not a word have I heard from her 
concerning our doings; though I think, Master Cap, she 
would like it better if Jasper Eau-douce were put into his 


244 


THE PATHFINDER. 


proper place, and things were restored to their old situa- 
tion, like. This is human natur’.” 

“ I’ll warrant it ! Girl-like, and Dunham-like too. Any- 
thing is better than an old uncle, and everybody knows 
more than an old seaman. This is human natur’, Master 

Pathfinder; and d e if I’m the man to sheer a fathom, 

starboard or port, for all the human natur’ that can be 
found in a minx of twenty — ay — or,” lowering his voice 
a little, “for all that can be paraded in his majesty’s 55th 
regiment of foot! I’ve not been at sea forty years to 
come up on this bit of fresh water to be taught human 
natur’. How this gale holds out! It blows as hard, at 
this moment, as if Boreas had just clapped his hand upon 
the bellows. And what is all this to leeward!” rubbing 
his eyes — “land, as sure as my name is Cap; and high 
land, too! ” 

The Pathfinder made no immediate answer, but, shaking 
his head, he watched the expression of his companion’s 
face, with a look of strong anxiety in his own. 

“Land, as certain as this is the Scud!” repeated Cap, 
“ a lee shore, and that, too, within a league of us, with as 
pretty a line of breakers as one could find on the beach of 
all Long Island! ” 

“ And is that encouraging or is it disheartening ? ” de- 
manded the Pathfinder. 

“Ha! encouraging, disheartening ? Why, neither. No, 
no — there is nothing encouraging about it; and, as for 
disheartening, nothing ought to dishearten a seaman. 
You never get disheartened or afraid in the woods, my 
friend ? ” 

“ I’ll not say that — I’ll not say that. When the danger 
is great, it is my gift to see it, and know it, and to try to 
avoid it; else would my scalp long since have been dry- 
ing in a Mingo wigwam. On this lake, however, I can 
see no trail, and I feel it my duty to submit; though I 
think we ought to remember there is such a person as 
Mabel Dunham on board. But here comes her father, 
and he will nat’rally feel for his own child.” 

“ We are seriously situated, I believ$, Brother Cap,” 
said the sergeant when he had reached the spot, “ by 
what I can gather from the two hands on the forecastle. 
They tell me the cutter cannot carry any more sail, and 


THE PATHFINDER. 245 

her drift is so great we shall go ashore in an hour or two. 
I hope their fears have deceived them.” 

Cap made no reply, but he gazed at the land with a 
rueful face, and then looked to windward with an expres- 
sion of ferocity, as if he would gladly have quarrelled with 
the weather. 

“ It may be well, brother,” the sergeant continued, “ to 
send for Jasper and consult him as to what is to be done. 
There are no French here to dread, and, under all circum- 
stances, the boy will save us from drowning, if possible.” 

“Ay — ay — ’ tis these cursed circumstances that have 
done all the mischief. But let the fellow come — let him 
come; a few well-managed questions will bring the truth 
out of him, I’ll warrant you.” 

This acquiescence on the part of the dogmatical Cap 
was no sooner obtained than Jasper was sent for. The 
young man instantly made his appearance, his whole air, 
countenance, and mien expressive of mortification, humil- 
ity, and, as his observers fancied, rebuked deception. 
When he first stepped on deck, Jasper cast one hurried, 
anxious glance around, as if curious to know the situation 
of the cutter; and that glance sufficed, it would seem, to 
let him into the secret of all her perils. At first he looked 
to windward, as is usual with every seaman, then he 
turned round the horizon, until his eyes caught a view of 
the highlands to leeward, when the whole truth burst upon 
him at once. 

“ I’ve sent for you, Master Jasper,” said Cap, folding his 
arms, and balancing his body with the dignity of the fore- 
castle, “ in order to learn something about the haven to 
leeward. We take it for granted you do not bear malice 
so hard as to wish to drown us all, especially the women; 
and I suppose you will be man enough to help us to run 
the cutter into some safe berth until this bit of a gale has 
done blowing ? ” 

“ I would die myself rather than harm should come to 
Mabel Dunham,” the young man earnestly answered. 

“I knew it! I knew it!” cried the Pathfinder, clapping 
his hand kindly on Jasper’s shoulder. “The lad is as 
true as the best compass that ever run a boundary or 
brought a man off from a blind trail ! It is a moral sin to 
believe otherwise.” 


246 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“Humph!” ejaculated Cap, “especially the women! 
As if they were in any particular danger. Never mind, 
young man, we shall understand each other by talking like 
two plain seamen. Do you know of any port under our 
lee ? ” 

“None. There is a large bay at the end of the lake, 
but it is unknown to us all; and not easy of entrance.” 

“ And this coast to leeward — it has nothing particular to 
recommend it, I suppose.” 

“ It is a wilderness until you reach the mouth of the 
Niagara in one direction and Frontenac in the other. 
North and west, they tell me, there is nothing but forest 
and prairies for a thousand miles.” 

“ Thank God, then, there can be no French ! Are there 
many savages hereaway on the land ? ” 

“ The Indians are to be found in all directions, though 
they are nowhere very numerous. By accident we might 
find a party at any point on the shore, or we might pass 
months there without seeing one.” 

“We must take our chance, then, as to the blackguards 
— but to be frank with you, Master Western, if this little 
unpleasant matter about the French had not come to pass, 
what would you now do with the cutter ? ” 

“ I am a much younger sailor than yourself, Master 
Cap,” said Jasper, modestly, “and am hardly fitted to 
advise you.” 

“ Ay — ay — we all know that. In a common case, per- 
haps not. But this is an uncommon case, and a circum- 
stance; and, on this bit of fresh water, it has what may 
be called its peculiarities; and so, everything considered, 
you may be fitted to advise even your own father. At all 
events, you can speak, and I can judge of your opinions, 
agreeably to my own experience.” 

“ I think, sir, before two hours are over, the cutter will 
have to anchor.” 

“ Anchor! — not out here, in the lake ? ” 

“ No, sir; but in yonder, near the land.” 

“You do not mean to say, Master Oh !-the-deuce, you 
would anchor on a lee shore, in a gale of wind! ” 

“ If I would save my vessel, that is exactly what I 
would do, Master Cap.” 

“Whe — e — e — w! this is fresh water, with a ven« 


THE PATHFINDER. 


247 


geance. Harkee, young man, I’ve been a sedfarmg ani- 
mal, boy and man, forty-one years, and I never yet heard 
of such a thing. I’d throw my ground-tackle overboard 
before I would be guilty of so lubberly an act! ” 

“That is what we do on this lake,” modestly replied 
Jasper, “when we are hard pressed. I dare say we might 
do better had we been better taught.” 

“ That you might, indeed! No; no man induces me to 
commit such a sin against my own bringing up. I should 
never dare show my face inside of Sandy Hook again had 
I committed so know-nothing an exploit. Why, Path- 
finder, here, has more seamanship in him than that comes 
to. You can go below again, Master Oh !-the-deuce. ” 
Jasper quietly bowed and withdrew; still, as he passed 
down the ladder, the spectators observed that he cast a 
lingering, anxious look at the horizon to windward and 
the land to leeward, and then disappeared, with concern 
strongly expressed in every lineament of his face. 


CHAPTER XVII. 

His still refuted quirks he still repeats ; 

New raised objections with new quibbles meets, 

Till sinking in the quicksand he defends, 

He dies disputing, and the contest ends. — Cowper. 

As the soldier’s wife was sick in her berth, Mabel Dun- 
ham was the only person in the outer cabin when Jasper 
returned to it; for, by an act of grace in the sergeant, he 
had been permitted to resume his proper place in this part 
of the vessel. We should be ascribing too much simplic- 
ity of character to our heroine if we said that she had felt 
no distrust of the young man in consequence of his arrest; 
but we should also be doing injustice to her warmth of 
feeling and generosity of disposition if we did not add 
that this distrust was insignificant and transient. As he 
now took his seat near her, his whole countenance clouded 
with the uneasiness he felt concerning the situation of the 
cutter, everything like suspicion was banished from her 
mind, and she saw in him only an injured man. 

* Y— let this affair weigh too heavily on your mind,. 


248 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Jasper," she said eagerly or with that forgetfulness of 
self with which the youthful of her sex are wont to betray 
their feelings when a strong and generous interest has 
attained the ascendency; “no one who knows you can 
or does believe you guilty. Pathfinder says he will pledge 
his life for you. ” 

“Then you, Mabel," returned the youth, his eyes flash- 
ing fire, “ do not look upon me as the traitor that your 
father seems to believe me to be ? " 

“ My dear father is a soldier, and is obliged to act as 
one. My father’s daughter is not, and will think of you 
as she ought to think of a man who has done so much to 
serve her already." 

“ Mabel — I’m not used to talking with one like you — or 
saying all I think or feel, with any. I never had a sister, 
and my mother died when I was a child, so that I know 
little what your sex most likes to hear " 

Mabel would have given the world to know what lay 
behind the teeming word at which Jasper hesitated; but 
the indefinable and controlling sense of womanly diffidence 
made her suppress her womanly curiosity. She waited in 
silence for him to explain his own meaning. 

“ I wish to say, Mabel," the young man continued, after 
a pause, which he found sufficiently embarrassing, “ that 
I am unused to the ways and opinions of one like you, 
and that you must imagine all I would add.” 

Mabel had imagination enough to fancy anything, but 
there are ideas and feelings that her sex prefer to have 
expressed, before they yield them all their own sympathies, 
and she had a vague consciousness that these of Jasper’s 
might properly be enumerated in the class; with a readi- 
ness that belonged to her sex, therefore, she preferred 
changing the discourse to permitting it to proceed any 
further in a manner so awkward and so unsatisfactory. 

“Tell me one thing, Jasper, and I shall be content," 
she said, speaking now with a firmness that denoted con- 
fidence, not only in herself, but in her companion: “you 
do not deserve this cruel suspicion which rests upon you ? " 

“I do not, Mabel," answered Jasper, looking into her 
full blue eyes with an openness and simplicity that might 
have shaken strong distrust. “ As I hope for mercy here- 
after, T do not." 


THE PATHFINDER. 


249 


Cfc i Knew it — I could have sworn it,” returned the girl, 
warmly. “ And yet my father means well; but do not let 
this matter disturb you, Jasper.” 

“ There is so much more to apprehend from another 
quarter just now that I scarce think of it.” 

“ Jasper! ” 

“ I do not wish to alarm you, Mabel; but if your uncle 
could be persuaded to change his notions about handling 
the Scud — and yet he is so much older and more experi- 
enced than I am that he ought, perhaps, to place more 
reliance on his own judgment than on mine.” 

“ Do you think the cutter in any danger ? ” demanded 
Mabel, quick as thought. 

“ I fear so — at least she would have been thought in 
great danger by us of the lake ; perhaps an old seamen of 
the ocean may have means of his own to take care of her.” 

“ Jasper, all agree in giving you credit for skill in man- 
aging the Scud ! You know the lake, you know the cutter 
— you must be the best judge of our real situation! ” 

“ My concern for you, Mabel, may make me more cow- 
ardly than common ; but, to be frank, I see but one method 
of keeping the cutter from being wrecked in the course of 
the next two or three hours, and that your uncle refuses 
to take. After all, this may be my ignorance; for, as he 
says, Ontario is merely fresh water.” 

“You cannot believe this will make any difference. 
Think of my dear father, Jasper! Think of yourself, of 
all the lives that depend on a timely word from you to 
save them! ” 

“ I think of you, Mabel, and that is more, much more, 
than all the rest put together,” returned the young man, 
with a strength of expression and an earnestness of look 
that uttered infinitely more than the words themselves. 

Mabel’s heart beat quick, and a gleam of grateful sat- 
isfaction shot across her blushing features; but the alarm 
was too vivid and too serious to admit of much relief from 
happier thoughts. She did not attempt to repress a look 
of gratitude, and then she returned to the feeling that was 
naturally uppermost. 

“My uncle’s obstinacy must not be permitted to occa- 
sion this disaster. Go once more on deck, Jasper, and ask 
my father to come into the cabin.” 


250 


THE PATHFINDER. 


While the young man was complying with this request, 
Mabel sat listening to the howling of the storm, and the 
dashing of the water against the cutter, in a dread to 
which she had hitherto been a stranger. Constitutionally 
an excellent sailor, as the term is used among passengers, 
she had not hitherto bethought her of any danger, and 
had passed her time, since the commencement of the gale, 
in such womanly employments as her situation allowed; 
but, now alarm was seriously awakened, she did not fail 
to perceive that never before had she been on the water 
in such a tempest. The minute or two that had elapsed 
ere the sergeant came appeared an hour, and she scarcely 
breathed when she saw him and Jasper descending the 
ladder in company. Quick as language could express her 
meaning she acquainted her father with Jasper’s opinion 
of their situation, and entreated him, if he loved her, or 
had any regard for his own life, or for those of his own 
men, to interfere with her uncle, and to induce him to yield 
the control of the cutter again to its proper commander. 

“Jasper is true, father,” she added earnestly; “and if 
false, he could have no motive in wrecking us in this dis- 
tant part of the lake, at the risk of all our lives, his own 
included. I will pledge my own life for his truth.” 

“ Ay, this is well enough for a young woman who is 
frightened,” answered the more phlegmatic parent; “but 
it might not be so prudent or excusable in one in com- 
mand of an expedition. Jasper may think the chance of 
drowning in getting ashore fully repaid by the chance of 
escaping as soon as he reaches land.” 

“ Sergeant Dunham! ” 

“ Father!” 

These exclamations were made simultaneously, but they 
were uttered in tones expressive of different feelings. In 
Jasper, surprise was the emotion uppermost; in Mabel, 
reproach. The old soldier, however, was too much ac* 
customed to deal frankly with subordinates to heed either; 
and, after a moment’s thought, he continued as if neither 
had spoken : 

“ Nor is Brother Cap a man likely to submit to be taught 
his duty on board a vessel.” 

“ But, father, when all our lives are in the utmost jeop« 

ardy ! ” 


TFE PATHFINDER. 


251 

“ So much the worse. The fair-weather commander is 
no great matter; it is when things go wrong that the best 
officer shows himself in his true colors. Charles Cap will 
not be likely to quit the helm because the ship is in dan- 
ger. Besides, Jasper Eau-douce, he says your proposal 
in itself has a suspicious air about it, and sounds more 
like treachery than reason.” 

“He may think so, but let him send for the pilot and 
hear his opinion. It is well known I have not seen the 
man since yesterday evening.” 

“ This does sound reasonable, and the experiment shall 
be tried. Follow me on deck, then, that all may be hon- 
est and above-board.” 

Jasper obeyed, and so keen was the interest of Mabel 
that she too ventured as far as the companionway, where 
her garments were sufficiently protected against the vio- 
lence of the wind, and her person from the spray. Here 
maiden modesty induced her to remain, though an ab- 
sorbed witness of what was passing. 

The pilot soon appeared, and there was no mistaking 
the look of concern that he cast around at the scene as 
soon as he was in the open air. Some rumors of the sit- 
uation of the Scud had found their way below, it is true; 
but in this instance rumor had lessened instead of mag- 
nified the dangers. He was allowed a few minutes to 
look about him, and then the question was put as to the 
course that he thought it prudent to follow. 

“I see no means of saving the cutter but to anchor,” 
he answered simply and without hesitation. 

“What, out here in the lake?” inquired Cap, as he 
had previously done of Jasper. 

“No — but closer in; just at the outer line of the 
breakers. ” 

The effect of this communication was to leave no doubt 
in the mind of Cap that there was a secret arrangement 
between her commander and the pilot to cast away the 
Scud; most probably with the hope of effecting their es- 
cape. He consequently treated the opinion of the latter 
with the indifference he had manifested toward that of 
the former. 

“I tell you. Brother Dunham,” he said, in answer to 
the remonstrances of the sergeant against his turning a 


THE PATHFINDER. 


252 

deaf ear to this double representation, “ that no seaman 
would give such an opinion honestly. To anchor on a 
lee shore in a gale of wind would be an act of madness 
that I could never excuse to the underwriters, under any 
circumstances, as long as a rag can be set — but to anchor 
close to breakers would be insanity.” 

“ His majesty underwrites the Scud, brother, and I am 
responsible for the lives of my command. These men are 
better acquainted with Lake Ontario than we can possi- 
bly be, and I do think their telling the same tale entitles 
them to some credit.” 

“ Uncle!” said Mabel, earnestly — but a gesture from 
Jasper induced the girl to restrain her feelings. 

“We are drifting down upon the breakers so rapidly ,’ 9 
said the young man, “ that little need be said on the sub- 
ject. Half an hour must settle the matter one way or 
the other; but I warn Master Cap that the surest-footed 
man among us will not be able to keep his feet an instant 
on the deck of this low craft should she fairly get within 
them. Indeed, I make little doubt that we shall fill and 
founder before the second line of rollers is passed ! ” 

“ And how would anchoring help the matter ? ” de- 
manded Cap, furiously, as if he felt that Jasper was re- 
sponsible for the effects of the gale, as well as for the 
opinion he had just given. 

“It would at least do no harm,” Eau-douce mildly re- 
plied. “ By bringing the cutter head to sea we should 
lessen her drift; and, even if we dragged through the 
breakers, it would be with the least possible danger. I 
hope, Master Cap, you will allow the pilot and myself to 
prepare for anchoring, since the precaution may do good, 
and can do no harm.” 

“ Overhaul your ranges, if you will, and get your an- 
chors clear, with all my heart. We are now in a situation 
that cannot be much affected by anything of that sort. 
Sergeant, a word with you aft here, if you please.” 

Cap led his brother-in-law out of ear-shot, and then, 
with more of human feeling in his voice and manner than 
he was apt to exhibit, he opened his heart on the subject 
of their real situation. 

“This is a melancholy affair for poor Mabel,” he said, 
blowing his nose, and speaking with a slight tremor. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


253 


“ You and I, sergeant, are old fellows, and used to being 
near death, if not to actually dying. Our trades fit us for 
such scenes; but poor Mabel, she is an affectionate and 
kind-hearted girl, and I had hoped to see her comfortably 
settled and a mother before my time came. Well, well; 
we must take the bad with the good in every v’y’ge, and 
the only serious objection that an old seafaring man can 
with propriety make to such an event is that it should 
happen on this bit of d d fresh water.” 

Sergeant Dunham was a brave man, and had shown his 
spirit in scenes that looked much more appalling than this. 
But on all such occasions he had been able to act his part 
against his foes, while here he was pressed upon by an 
enemy whom he had no means of resisting. For himself 
he cared far less than for his daughter, feeling some of 
that self-reliance which seldom deserts a man of firmness 
who is in vigorous health and who has been accustomed 
to personal exertions in moments of jeopardy. But, as 
respects Mabel, he saw no means of escape, and with a 
father’s fondness he at once determined that, if either was 
doomed to perish, he and his daughter must perish to- 
gether. 

“ Do you think this must come to pass ? ” he asked of 
Cap, firmly, but with strong feeling. 

“Twenty minutes will carry us into the breakers; and 
look for yourself, sergeant, what chance will even the 
stoutest man among us have in that caldron to leeward ? ” 

The prospect was, indeed, little calculated to encourage 
hope. By this time the Scud was within a mile of the 
shore, on which the gale was blowing, at right angles, with 
a violence that forbade the idea of showing any additional 
canvas with a view to claw off. The small portion of the 
mainsail that was actually set, and which merely served 
to keep the head of the Scud so near the wind as to pre- 
vent the waves from breaking over her,, quivered under 
the gusts as if at each moment the stout threads which 
held the complicated fabric together were about to be 
torn asunder. The drizzle had ceased, but the air for a 
hundred feet above the surface of the lake was filled with 
dazzling spray, which had an appearance not unlike that 
of a brilliant mist, while, above all, the sun was shining 
gloriously in a cloudless sky. Jasper had noted the omen, 


254 


THE PATHFINDER. 


and had foretold that it announced a speedy termination 
to the gale, though the next hour or two must decide their 
fate. Between the cutter and the shore the view was still 
more wild and appalling. The breakers extended near 
half a. mile; while the water within their line was white 
with foam, the air above them was so far filled with vapor 
and spray as to render the land beyond hazy and indis- 
tinct. Still, it could be seen that the latter was high, not 
a usual thing for the shores of Ontario, and that it was 
covered with the verdant mantle of the interminable forest. 

While the sergeant and Cap were gazing at this scene 
in silence, Jasper and his people were actively engaged on 
the forecastle. No sooner had the young man received 
permission to resume his old employment than, appealing 
to some of the soldiers for aid, he mustered five or six 
assistants, and set about in earnest the performance of a 
duty that had been too long delayed. On these narrow 
waters anchors are never stowed inboard, or cables that 
are intended for service unbent, and Jasper was saved 
much of the labor that would have been necessary in a 
vessel at sea. The two bowers were soon ready to be let 
go, ranges of the cables were overhauled, and then the 
party paused to look about them. No changes for the 
better had occurred; but the cutter was falling slowly in, 
and each instant rendered it more certain that she could 
not gain an inch to windward. 

One long, earnest survey of the lake ended, Jasper gave 
new orders in a manner to prove how much he thought 
that the time pressed. Two kedges were got on deck, and 
hawsers were bent to them; the inner ends of the hawsers 
were bent in their turn to the crowns of their anchors, and 
everything was got ready to throw them overboard at the 
proper moment. These preparations completed, Jasper’s 
manner changed from the excitement of exertion to a look 
of calm but settled concern. He quitted the forecastle, 
where the seas were dashing inboards at every plunge of 
the vessel, the duty just mentioned having been executed 
with the bodies of the crew frequently buried in the water, 
and walked to a drier part of the deck aft. Here he was 
met by the Pathfinder, who was standing near Mabel and 
the quartermaster. Most of those on board, with the ex- 
ception of the individuals who have already been particu- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


255 


larly mentioned, were below, some seeking relief from 
physical suffering, on their pallets, and others tardily be- 
thinking them of their sins. For the first time, most 
probably, since her keel had dipped into the limpid waters 
of Ontario, the voice of prayer was heard on board the 
Scud. 

‘‘Jasper,” commenced his friend the guide, “I have 
been of no use this morning, for my gifts are of little ac- 
count, as you know, in a vessel like this; but, should it 
please God to let the sergeant’s daughter reach the shore 
alive, my acquaintance with the forest may still carry her 
through in safety to the garrison.” 

“ ’Tis a fearful distance thither, Pathfinder!” Mabel 
rejoined, the party being so near together that all that 
was said by one was overheard by the other. “ I am 
afraid none of us could live to reach the fort.” 

“ It would be a risky path, Mabel, and a crooked one, 
though some of your sex have undergone even more than 
that in this wilderness. But, Jasper, either you or I, or 
both of us, must man this bark canoe; Mabel’s only 
chance will lie in getting through the breakers in that.” 

“I would willingly man anything to save Mabel,” an- 
swered Jasper, with a melancholy smile ; “ but no human 
hands, Pathfinder, could carry that canoe through yonder 
breakers in a gale like this. I have hopes from anchor- 
ing, after all; for once before have we saved the Scud in 
an extremity nearly as great as this.” 

“If we are to anchor, Jasper,” the sergeant inquired, 
“ why not do it at once ? Every foot we lose in drifting 
now would come into the distance we shall probably drag 
when the anchors are let go.” 

Jasper drew nearer to the sergeant and took his hand, 
pressing it earnestly, and in a way to denote strong, al- 
most uncontrollable feelings. 

“Sergeant Dunham,” he said solemnly, “you are a 
good maii, though you have treated me harshly in this 
business. You love your daughter ? ” 

“That you cannot doubt, Eau-douce,” returned the 
sergeant, huskily. 

“ Will you give her — give us all the only c'hance for life 
that is left ? ” 

“What would you have me to do, boy? what would you 


25 6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


have me to do ? I have acted according to my judgment 
hitherto — what would you have me do ? ” 

“Support me against Master Cap for five minutes, and 
all that man can do toward saving the Scud shall be done. ” 

The sergeant hesitated, for he was too much of a disci- 
plinarian to fly in the face of regular orders. He disliked 
the appearance of vacillation, too, and, then, he had a pro- 
found respect for his kinsman’s seamanship. While he 
was deliberating, Cap came from the post he had some 
time occupied, which was at the side of the man at the 
helm, and drew nigh the group. 

“Master Eau-douce,” he said, as soon as near enough 
to be heard, “ I have come to inquire if you know any spot 
near by where this cutter can be beached ? The moment 
has arrived when we are driven to this hard alternative.” 

That instant of indecision on the part of Cap secured 
the triumph of Jasper. Looking at the sergeant, the young 
man received a nod that assured him of all he asked, and 
he lost not one of those moments that were getting to be 
so very precious. 

“Shall I take the helm,” he inquired of Cap, “and see 
if we can reach a creek that lies to leeward? ” 

“Do so — do so,” said the other, hemming to clear his 
throat, for he felt oppressed by a responsibility that 
weighed all the heavier on his shoulders on account of 
his ignorance. “ Do so, Oh !-the-deuce, since, to be frank 
with you, I can see nothing better to be done. We must 
beach or swamp ! ” 

Jasper required no more. Springing aft he soon had 
the tiller in his own hands. The pilot was prepared for 
what was to follow, and, at a sign from his young com- 
mander, the rag of sail that had so long been set was 
taken in. At that moment, Jasper, watching his time, 
put the helm up, the head of a staysail was loosened for- 
ward, and the light cutter, as if conscious she was now 
under the control of familiar hands, fell off, and was soon 
in the trough of the sea. This perilous instant was passed 
in safety, and at the next moment the little vessel ap- 
peared flying down toward the breakers at a rate that 
threatened instant destruction. The distances had got to 
be so short that five or six minutes sufficed for all that 
Jasper wished, and he put the helm down again when the 


THE PATHFINDER. 


257 


bows of the Scud came up to the wind, notwithstanding 
the turbulence of the waters, as gracefully as the duck 
varies its line of direction on the glassy pond. A sign 
from Jasper set all in motion on the forecastle, and a 
kedge was thrown from each bow. The fearful nature of 
the drift was now apparent even to Mabel’s eyes, for the 
two hawsers ran out like tow-lines. As soon as they 
straightened to a slight strain, both anchors were let go, 
and cable was given to each nearly to the better-ends. 
It was not a difficult task to snub so light a craft with 
ground tackle of a quality better than common; and, in 
less than ten minutes from the moment when Jasper went 
to the helm, the Scud was riding, head to sea, with the two 
cables stretched ahead in lines that resembled bars of iron. 

“ This is not well done, Master Jasper!” angrily ex- 
claimed Cap, as soon as he perceived the trick that had 
been played him — “ this is not well done, sir. I order you 
to cut, and to beach the cutter without a moment’s de- 
lay.” 

No one, however, seemed disposed to comply with this 
order, for, so long as Eau-douce saw fit to command, his 
own people were disposed to obey. Finding that the men 
remained passive, Cap, who believed they were in the ut- 
most peril, turned fiercely to Jasper, and renewed his re- 
monstrances. 

“ You did not head for your pretended creek, ” he added, 
after dealing in some objurgatory remarks that we do not 
deem it necessary to record, “ but steered for that bluff, 
where every soul on board would have been drowned had 
we gone ashore! ” 

“And you wish to cut, and put every soul ashore at 
that very spot! ” Jasper retorted, a little dryly. 

“ Throw a lead-line overboard, and ascertain the drift! ” 
Cap now roared to the people forward. A sign from Jas- 
per sustaining this order, it was instantly obeyed. All on 
deck gathered round the spot, and watched, with nearly 
breathless interest, the result of the experiment. The 
lead was no sooner on the bottom than the line tended 
forward, and in about two minutes it was seen that the 
cutter had drifted her length dead in toward the bluff. 
Jasper looked grave, for he well knew nothing would hold 
the vessel did she get within the vortex of the breakers, 


258 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the first line of which was appearing and disappearing 
about a cable’s length directly under their stern. 

“Traitor!” exclaimed Cap, shaking a finger at the 
young commander, though passion choked the rest. “ You 
must answer for this with your life!” he added after a 
short pause. “If I were at the head of this expedition, 
sergeant, I would hang him at the end of the main-boom 
lest he escape drowning! ” 

“ Moderate your feelings, brother — be more moderate, 
I beseech you; Jasper appears to have done all for the 
best, and matters may not be as bad as you believe them.” 

“Why did he not run for the creek he mentioned — why 
has he brought us here, dead to windward of that bluff, 
and to a spot where even the breakers are only of half the 
ordinary width, as if in a hurry to drown all on board ? ” 

“ I headed for the bluff for the precise reason that the 
breakers are so narrow at this spot,” answered Jasper, 
mildly, though his gorge had risen at the language the 
other held. 

“ Do you mean to tell an old seaman like me that this 
cutter could live in those breakers ? ” 

“ I do not, sir. I think she would fill and swamp if 
driven into the first line of them — I am certain she would 
never reach the shore on her bottom if fairly entered. I 
hope to keep her clear of them altogether.” 

“With a drift of her length in a minute! ” 

“ The backing of the anchors does not yet fairly tell, 
nor do I even hope that they will entirely bring her up.” 

“On what do you rely? To moor a craft, head and 
stern, by faith, hope, and charity!” 

“No, sir — I trust to the under-tow. I headed for the 
bluff because I knew that it was stronger at that point 
than at any other, and because we could get nearer in 
with the land without entering the breakers.” 

This was said with spirit, though without any particular 
show of resentment. Its effect on Cap was marked, the 
feeling that was uppermost being evidently that of surprise. 

“Under-tow! ” he repeated; “who the devil ever heard 
of saving a vessel from going ashore, by the under-tow?” 

“This may never happen on the ocean, sir,” Jasper an- 
swered modestly, “ but we have known it to happen here.” 

“The lad is right, brother,” put in the sergeant: “for, 


THE PATHFINDER. 


259 


though I do not well understand it, I have often heard 
the sailors of the lake speak of such a thing. We shall 
do well to trust to Jasper in this strait.” 

Cap grumbled and swore, but as there was no remedy 
he was compelled to acquiesce. Jasper being now called 
on to explain what he meant by the under-tow, gave this 
account of the matter: The water that was driven up on 
the shore by the gale was necessarily compelled to find its 
level by returning to the lake by some secret channels. 
This could hot be done on the surface, where both wind 
and waves were constantly urging it toward the land, and 
it necessarily formed a sort of lower eddy, by means of 
which it flowed back again to its ancient and proper bed. 
This inferior current had received the name of the under- 
tow; and, as it would necessarily act on the bottom of a 
vessel that drew as much water as the Scud, Jasper trusted 
to the aid of this reaction to keep his cables from parting. 
In short, the upper and lower currents would, in a man- 
ner, counteract each other. 

Simple and ingenious as was this theory, however, as 
yet there was little evidence of its being reduced to prac- 
tice. The drift continued; though as the kedges and 
hawsers with which the anchors were backed took the 
strains, it became sensibly less. At length the man at the 
lead announced the joyful intelligence that the anchors 
had ceased to drag, and that the vessel had brought up. 
At this precise moment the first line of breakers was about 
a hundred feet astern of the Scud, even appearing to ap- 
proach much nearer, as the foam vanished and returned 
on the raging surges. Jasper sprang forward, and, casting 
a glance over the bows, he smiled in triumph as he pointed 
exultingly at the cables. Instead of resembling bars of 
iron in rigidity as before, they were curving downward, 
and, to a seaman’s senses, it was evident that the cutter 
rose and fell on the seas, as they came in, with the ease of 
a ship in a tideway when the power of the wind is re- 
lieved by the counteracting pressure of the water. 

“ ’Tis the under-tow! ” he exclaimed with delight, fairly 
bounding along the deck to steady the helm, in order that 
the cutter might ride still easier. “ Providence has placed 
us directly in its current, and there is no longer any dan- 
ger! ” 


26 o 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“Ay, ay; Providence is a good seaman,” growled Cap, 
“and often helps lubbers out of difficulty. Under-tow or 
upper-tow, the gale has abated; and, fortunately for us 
all, the anchors have met with good holding-ground. Then, 
this d — d fresh water has an unnatural way with it! ” 

Men are seldom inclined to quarrel with good fortune, 
but it is in distress that they grow clamorous and critical. 
Most on board were disposed to believe that they had been 
saved from shipwreck by the skill and knowledge of Jas- 
per, without regarding the opinions of Cap, whose remarks 
were now little heeded. 

There was half an hour of uncertainty and doubt, it is 
true, during which period the lead was anxiously watched; 
and then a feeling of security came over all, and the wea rv 
slept without dreaming of instant death. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

** It is to be all made of sighs and tears ; 

It is to be all made of faith and service ; 

It is to be all made of fantasy — 

All made of passion, and all made of wishes : 

All adoration, duty, and observance ; 

All humbleness, all patience, and impatience; 

All purity, all trial, all observance.” — Shakespeare 

It was near noon when the gale broke, and then its 
force abated as suddenly as its violence had arisen. In 
less than two hours after the wind fell, the surface of the 
lake, though still agitated, was no longer glittering with 
foam; and, in double that time, the entire sheet presented 
the ordinary scene of disturbed water that was unbroken 
by the violence of a tempest. Still the waves came roll- 
ing incessantly toward the shore, and the line of breakers 
remained, though the spray had ceased to fly; the comb- 
ing of the swells was moderate, and all that there was of 
violence proceeded from the impulsion of wind that had 
abated. 

As it was impossible to make head against the sea that 
was still up, with the light opposing air that blew from the 
eastward, all thoughts of gett’ng under way that afternoon 


THE PATHFINDER. 


26l 


were abandoned. Jasper, who had now quietly resumed 
the command of the Scud, busied himself, however, in 
heaving up the anchors, which were lifted in succession. 
The kedges that backed them were weighed, and every- 
thing was got in readiness for a prompt departure as soon 
as the state of the weather would allow. In the mean 
time they who had no concern with those duties sought 
such means of amusement as their peculiar circumstances 
allowed. 

As is common with those who are unused to the con- 
finement of a vessel, Mabel cast wistful eyes toward the 
shore; nor was it long before she expressed a wish that it 
were possible to land. The Pathfinder was near her at 
the time, and he assured her that nothing would be easier, 
as they had a bark canoe on deck, which was the best 
possible mode of conveyance to go through a surf. After 
the usual doubts and misgivings, the sergeant was ap- 
pealed to : his opinion proved to be favorable, and prepara- 
tions to carry the whim into effect were immediately made. 

The party that was to land consisted of Sergeant Dun- 
ham, his daughter, and the Pathfinder. Accustomed to 
the canoe, Mabel took her seat in the centre with great 
steadiness, her father was placed in the bows, while the 
guide assumed the office of conductor, by steering in the 
stern. There was little need of impelling the canoe by 
means of the paddle, for the rollers sent it forward, at 
moments, with a violence that set every effort to govern 
its movements at defiance. More than once, ere the shore 
was reached, Mabel repented of her temerity, but Path- 
finder encouraged her, and really manifested so much self- 
possession, coolness, and strength of arm himself, that 
even a female might have hesitated about owning all her 
apprehensions. Our heroine was no coward, and, while 
she felt the novelty of her situation, she also experienced 
a fair proportion of its wild delight. At moments, indeed, 
her heart was in her mouth, as the bubble of a boat floated 
on the very crest of a foaming breaker, appearing to skim 
the water like a swallow, and then she flushed and laughed, 
as, left by the glancing element, they appeared to linger 
behind, ashamed of having been outdone in the headlong 
race. A few minutes sufficed for this excitement, for, 
though the distance between the cutter and the land con* 


262 


THE PATHFINDER. 


siderably exceeded a quarter of a mile, the intermediate 
space was passed in a very few minutes. 

On landing, the sergeant kissed his daughter kindly, 
for he was so much of a soldier as always to feel more at 
home on terra firma than when afloat, and, taking his gun, 
he announced his intention to pass an hour in quest of 
game. 

“ Pathfinder will remain near you, girl, and no doubt he 
will tell you some of the traditions of this part of the 
world, or some of his own experiences with the Mingoes. ” 

The guide laughed, promised to have a care of Mabel, 
and in a few minutes the father had ascended a steep ac- 
clivity, and disappeared in the forest. The others took 
another direction, which, after a few minutes of sharp 
ascent also, brought them to a small naked point on the 
promontory, where the eye overlooked an extensive and 
very peculiar panorama. Here Mabel seated herself on a 
fragment of fallen rock, to recover her breath and strength, 
while her companion, on whose sinews no personal exer- 
tion seemed to make any impression, stood at her side, 
leaning in his own and not ungraceful manner on his long 
rifle. Several minutes passed, and neither spoke, Mabel, 
in particular, being lost in admiration of the view. 

The position the two had attained was sufficiently ele- 
vated to command a wide reach of the lake, which stretched 
away toward the northeast in a boundless sheet, glitter- 
ing beneath the rays of an afternoon’s sun, and yet be- 
traying the remains of that agitation which it had endured 
while tossed by the late tempest. The land set bounds 
to its limits, in a huge crescent, disappearing in distance 
toward the southeast and the north. Far as the eye could 
reach, nothing but forest was visible, not even a solitary 
sign of civilization breaking in upon the uniform and grand 
magnificence of nature. The gale had driven the Scud 
beyond the line of those forts with which the French were 
then endeavoring to gird the English North-American 
possessions; for, following the channels of communica- 
tion between the great lakes their posts were on the banks 
of the Niagara, while our adventurers had reached a point 
many leagues westward from that celebrated strait. The 
cutter rode at single anchor without the breakers, resem- 
bling some well-imagined and accurately executed toy, 


THE PATHFINDER. 


263 

that was intended rather for a glass case than for the 
struggles with the elements which she had so lately gone 
through; while the canoe lay on the narrow beach, just 
out of reach of the waves that came booming upon the 
land, a speck upon the shingles. 

“We are very far, here, from human habitations! ” ex- 
claimed Mabel, when, after a long and musing survey of 
the scene, its principal peculiarities forced themselves on 
her active and ever-brilliant imagination: “this is indeed 
being on a frontier! ” 

“ Have they more sightly scenes than this, nearer the 
sea and around their large towns ? ” demanded Pathfinder, 
with an interest he was apt to discover in such a subject. 

“ I will not say that; there is more to remind one of his 
fellow-beings there than here; less, perhaps, to remind 
one of God. ’ 

“ Ay, Mabel, that is what my own feelings say. I am 
but a poor hunter, I know, untaught and unlarned; but 
God is as near me in this my home as he is near the king 
in his royal palace.” 

“Who can doubt it?” returned Mabel, looking from 
the view up into the hard-featured but honest face of her 
companion, though not without surprise at the energy of 
his manner. “ One feels nearer to God in such a spot, I 
think, than when the mind is distracted by the objects of 
the towns.” 

“You say all I wish to say myself, Mabel, but in so 
much plainer speech that you make me ashamed of wishing 
to let others know what I feel on such matters. I have 
coasted this lake in s’ arch of skins afore the war, and 
have been here already; not at this very spot, for we 
landed yonder where you may see the blasted oak that 
stands above the cluster of hemlocks ” 

“How! Pathfinder, can you remember all those trifles 
so accurately ? ” 

“ These are our streets and houses, our churches and 
our palaces. Remember them, indeed! I once made an 
appointment with the Big Sarpent, to meet at twelve 
o’clock at noon near the foot of a certain pine, at the end 
of six months, when neither of us was within three hun- 
dred miles of the spot. The tree stood, and stands still 
unless the judgment of Providence has lighted on that 


264 


THE PATHFINDER. 


too, in the midst of the forest, fifty miles from any settle- 
ment, but in a most extraordinary neighborhood for 
beaver. 

“ And did you meet at that very spot and hour ? ” 

“ Does the sun rise and set ? When I reached the tree, 
I found the Serpent leaning against its trunk, with torn 
leggings and muddied moccasins. The Delaware had got 
into a swamp, and it worried him not a little to find his 
way out of it: but, as the sun, which .comes over the east- 
ern hills in the morning, goes down behind the western at 
night, so was he true to time and place. No fear of 
Chingachgook when there is either a friend or an enemy 
in the case. He is equally sartain with each.” 

“ And where is the Delaware now — why is he not with 
us to-day ? ” 

“ He is scouting on the Mingo trail, where I ought to 
have been, too, but for a great human infirmity.” 

“You seem above, beyond, superior to all infirmity, 
Pathfinder; I never yet met with a man who appeared to 
be so little liable to the weaknesses of nature.” 

“ If you mean in the way of health and strength, Mabel, 
Providence has been kind to me; though I fancy the open 
air, long hunts, active scoutings, forest fare, and the sleep 
of a good conscience may always keep the doctors at a 
distance. But I am human, after all; yes, I find I’m very 
human in some of my feelin’s. ” 

Mabel lpoked surprised, and it would be no more than 
delineating the character of her sex if we added that her 
sweet countenance expressed a good deal of curiosity, too, 
though her tongue was more discreet. 

“ There is something bewitching in this wild life of yours, 
Pathfinder,” she exclaimed, a tinge of enthusiasm mantling 
her cheeks. “ I find I’m fast getting to be a frontier girl, 
and am coming to love all this grand silence of the woods. 
The towns seem tame to me; and, as my father will prob- 
ably pass the remainder of his days here, where he has 
already lived so long, I begin to feel that I should be 
happy to continue with him, and not return to the sea- 
shore.” 

“ The woods are never silent, Mabel, to such as under 
stand their meaning. Days at a time have I travelled 
them alone, without feeling the want of company; and. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


265 


as for conversation, for such as can comprehend their lan- 
guage there is no want of rational and instructive dis- 
course.” 

“ I believe you are happier when alone, Pathfinder, than 
when mingling with your fellow-creatures.” 

“ I will not say that — I will not say exactly that! I have 
seen the time when I have thought that God was sufficient 
for me in the forest, and craved no more than his bounty 
and his care. But other feelin’s have got uppermost, and 
I suppose natur’ will have its way. All other creatur’s 
mate, Mabel, and it was intended man should Mo so, 
too.” 

“ And have you never bethought you of seeking a wife, 
Pathfinder, to share your fortunes ? ” inquired the girl, 
with the directness and simplicity that the pure of heart 
and the undesigning are the most apt to manifest, and 
with that feeling of affection which is inbred in her sex. 
“To me it seems you want only a home to return to, 
after your wanderings, to render you life completely happy. 
Were I a man, it would be my delight to roam through 
these forests at will or to sail over this beautiful lake.” 

“I understand you, Mabel; and God bless you for 
thinking of the welfare of men as humble as we are. We 
have our pleasures, it is true, as well as our gifts, but we 
might be happier: yes, I do think we might be happier.” 

“ Happier! in what way, Pathfinder ? In this pure air, 
with these cool and shaded forests to wander through, 
this lovely lake to gaze at and sail upon, with clear con- 
sciences, and abundance for all the real wants, men ought 
to be nothing less than as perfectly happy as their infirmi- 
ties will allow.” 

“ Every creatur* has its gifts, Mabel, and men has 
theirs,” answered the guide, looking stealthily at his beau- 
tiful companion, whose cheeks had flushed and eyes bright- 
ened under the ardor of feelings excited by the novelty of 
her striking situation ; “ and all must obey them. Do you 
see yonder pigeon that is just alightin’ on the beech — here 
in a line with the fallen chestnut ?” 

“Certainly; it is the only thing stirring with life in it, 
besides ourselves, that is to be seen in this vast solitude.” 

“Not so, Mabel, not so; Providence makes nothing 
that lives, to live quite alone. Here is its mate, just ris- 


266 


THE PATHFINDER. 


ing on tne wing; it has been feedin’ near the other beecn, 
but it will not long be separated from its companion.” 

“I understand you, Pathfinder,” returned Mabel, smil- 
ing sweetly, though as calmly as if the discourse was with 
her father. “But a hunter may find a mate, even in this 
wild region. The Indian girls are affectionate and true, 
I know, for such was the wife of Arrowhead, to a husband 
that oftener frowned than smiled.” 

“ That would never do, Mabel, and good would never 
come of it. Kind must cling to kind, and country to 
country, if one would find happiness. If, indeed, I could 
meet with one like you, who would consent to be a hunter’s 
wife, and who would not scorn my ignorance and rude* 
ness, then, indeed, would all the toil of the past appear 
like the sporting of the young deer, and all the future like 
sunshine ! ” 

“One like me! A girl of my years and indiscretion 
would hardly make a fit companion for the boldest scout 
and surest hunter on the lines! ” 

“Ah! Mabel, I fear me that I have been improving a 
red-skin’s gifts with a pale-face’s natur’ ! Such a charac- 
ter would insure a wife in an Injin village.” 

“ Surely, surely, Pathfinder, you would not think of 
choosing one as ignorant, as frivolous, as vain, and as in- 
experienced as I, for your wife!” Mabel would have 
added, “and as young,” but an instinctive feeling of deli- 
cacy repressed the words. 

“ And why not, Mabel ? If you are ignorant of frontier 
usages, you know more than all of us of pleasant anec- 
dotes and town customs; as for frivolous, I know not what 
it means; but if it signifies beauty, ah’s me! I fear it is 
no fault in my eyes. Vain you are not, as is seen by the 
kind manner in which you listen to all my idle tales about 
scoutings and trails; and for experience, that will come 
with years. Besides, Mabel, I fear men think little of 
these matters when they are about to take wives — I do.” 

“ Pathfinder — your words — your looks — surely all this 
is meant in trifling — you speak in pleasantry.” 

“To me it is always agreeable to be near you, Mabel, 
and I should sleep sounder this blessed night than I have 
done for a week past, could I think that you find such 
discourse as pleasant as I do.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


267 


We shall not say that Mabel Dunham had not believed 
herself a favorite with the guide. This her quick feminine 
sagacity had early dicovered, and perhaps she had occa- 
sionally thought there had mingled with his regard and 
friendship some of that manly tenderness which the ruder 
sex must be coarse indeed not to show, on occasions, to 
the gentler; but the idea that he seriously sought her for 
his wife had never before crossed the mind of the spirited 
and ingenuous girl. Now, however, a gleam of something 
like the truth broke in upon her imagination, less induced 
by the words of her companion, perhaps, than by his man- 
ner. Looking earnestly into the rugged, honest counte- 
nance of the scout, Mabel’s own features became con- 
cerned and grave, and when she spoke again it was with 
a gentleness of manner that attracted him to her, even 
more powerfully than the words themselves were calcu- 
lated to repel. 

“You and I should understand each other, Pathfinder," 
she said, with an earnest sincerity, “ nor should there be 
any cloud between us. You are too upright and frank to 
meet with anything but sincerity and frankness in return. 
Surely — surely, all this means nothing — has no other con- 
nection with your feelings than such a friendship as one 
of your wisdom and character would naturally feel for a 
girl like me! " 

“I believe it’s all as nat’ral, Mabel; yes, I do: the ser- 
geant tells me he had such feelin’s toward your own 
mother, and I think I’ve seen something like it in the 
young people I have from time to time guided through 
the wilderness. Yes, yes — I dare say it’s all nat’ral 
enough, and that makes it come so easy, and is a great 
comfort to me.” 

“Pathfinder, your words make me uneasy! Speak 
plainer, or change the subject forever. You do not — can- 
not mean that — you — cannot wish me to understand ” 

even the tongue of the spirited Mabel faltered, and she 
shrank with maiden shame from adding what she wished 
so earnestly to say. Rallying her courage, however, and 
determined to know all as soon and as plainly as possible, 
after a moment’s hesitation she continued: “I mean, 
Pathfinder, that you do not wish me to understand that 
you seriously think of me as a wife ? ” 


268 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“I do, Mabel; that’s it — that’s just it; and you have 
put the matter in a much better point of view than I, with 
my forest gifts and frontier ways, would ever be able to 
do. The sergeant and I have concluded on the matter, if 
it is agreeable to you, as he thinks is likely will be the 
case, though I doubt my own power to please one who 
deserves the best husband America can produce.” 

Mabel’s countenance changed from uneasiness to sur* 
prise, and, then, by a transition still quicker, from surprise 
to pain. 

“My father!” she exclaimed. “My dear father has 
thought of my becoming your wife, Pathfinder! ” 

“Yes, he has, Mabel; he has indeed! He has even 
thought such a thing might be agreeable to you, and has 
almost encouraged me to fancy it might be true.” 

“ But, you, yourself — you certainly can care nothing 
whether this singular expectation shall be realized or not ? ” 

“ Anan ? ” 

“ I mean, Pathfinder, that you have talked of this match 
more to oblige my father than anything else; that your 
feelings are no way concerned, let my answer be what it 
may.” 

The scout looked earnestly into the beautiful face of 
Mabel, which had flushed with the ardor and novelty of 
her sensations, and it was impossible to mistake the intense 
admiration that betrayed itself in every lineament of his 
ingenuous countenance. 

“ I have often thought myself happy, Mabel, when 
ranging the woods, on a successful hunt, breathing the 
pure air of the hills, and filled with vigor and health ; but 
I now feel that it has all been idleness and vanity com- 
pared with the delight it would give me to know that you 
thought better of me than you think of most others.” 

“Better of you! — I do indeed think better of you, Path- 
finder, than of most others — I am not certain that I do 
not think better of you than of any other; for your truth, 
honesty, simplicity, justice, and courage are scarcely 
equalled by any on earth.” 

“Ah! Mabel! — these are sweet and encouraging words 
from you; and the sergeant, after all, was not as near 
wrong as I feared.” 

* Nay. Pathfinder — in the name of all that is sacred and 


THE PATHFINDER. 


269 


just, do not let us misunderstand each other in a matter 
of so much importance. While I esteem, respect, nay, 
reverence you, almost as much as I reverence my own dear 
father, it is impossible that I should ever become your 
wife — that I ” 

The change in her companion’s countenance was so 
sudden and so great that, the moment the effect of what 
she had uttered became visible in the face of the Path- 
finder, Mabel arrested her own words, notwithstanding 
her strong desire to be explicit, the reluctance with which 
she could at any time cause pain being sufficient of itself 
to induce the pause. Neither spoke for some time, the 
shade of disappointment that crossed the rugged linea- 
ments of the hunter amounting so nearly to anguish as 
to frighten his companion, while the sensation of choking 
became so strong in the Pathfinder that he fairly griped 
his throat, like one who sought physical relief for physical 
suffering. The convulsive manner in which his fingers 
worked actually struck the alarmed girl with a feeling of 
awe. 

“Nay, Pathfinder,” Mabel eagerly added, the instant 
she could command her voice, “ I may have said more 
than I mean, for all things of this nature are possible, 
and women, they say, are never sure of their own minds. 
What I wish you to understand is that it is not likely that 
you and I should ever think of each other as man and 
wife ought to think of each other.” 

“ I do not — I shall never think in that way again, 
Mabel,” gasped forth the Pathfinder, who appeared to 
utter his words like one just raised above the pressure of 
some suffocating substance. “No — no — I shall never 
think of you, or any one else, again, in that way.” 

“ Pathfinder — dear Pathfinder — understand me — do not 
attach more meaning to my words than I do myself — a 
match like that would be unwise — unnatural, perhaps.” 

“Yes, unnat’ral — ag’in’ natur’ ; and so I told the ser- 
geant, but he would have it otherwise.” 

“Pathfinder! Oh! this is worse than I could have im- 
agined — take my hand, excellent Pathfinder, and let me 
see that you do not hate me. For God’s sake, smile upon 
me again! ” 

“ Hate you, Mabel! Smile upon you! Ah’s me! ” 


270 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Nay, give me your hand; your hardy, true, and manly 
hand — both, both, Pathfinder, for I shall not be easy until 
I feel certain that we are friends again, and that all this 
has been a mistake.” 

“ Mabel,” said the guide, looking wistfully into the face 
of the generous and impetuous girl as she held his two 
hard and sunburnt hands in her own pretty and delicate 
fingers, and laughing in his own silent and peculiar man- 
ner, while anguish gleamed over lineaments which seemed 
incapable of deception, even while agitated with emotions 
so conflicting, “ Mabel, the sergeant was wrong! ” 

The pent-up feelings could endure no more, and the 
tears rolled down the cheeks of the scout like rain. His 
fingers again worked convulsively at his throat, and his 
breast heaved, as if it possessed a tenant of which it would 
be rid, by any effort, however desperate. 

“Pathfinder! — Pathfinder!” Mabel almost shrieked, 
“ anything but this — anything but this. Speak to me, 
Pathfinder — smile again — say one kind word — anything to 
prove you can forgive me.” 

“ The sergeant was wrong ! ” exclaimed the guide, laugh- 
ing amid his agony, in a way to terrify his companion by 
the unnatural mixture of anguish and light-heartedness. 
“I knew it — I knew it, and said it; yes, the sergeant was 
wrong a’ter all.” 

“We can be friends, though we cannot be man and 
wife,” continued Mabel, almost as much disturbed as her 
companion, scarce knowing what she said; “we can al- 
ways be friends, and always will.” 

“I thought the sergeant was mistaken,” resumed the 
Pathfinder, when a great effort had enabled him to com- 
mand himself, “ for I did not think my gifts were such as 
would please the fancy of a town-bred gal. It would have 
been better, MabM, had he not over-persuaded me into a 
different notion; and it might have been better, too, had 
you not been so pleasant and friendly like ; yes, it would.” 

“ If I thought any error of mine had raised false expec- 
tations in you, Pathfinder, however unintentionally on my 
part, I should never forgive myself ; for, believe me, I 
would rather endure pain in my own feelings than you 
should suffer.” 

“ That’s just it, Mabel ; that’s just it. These speeches 


THE PATHFINDER. 


271 


and opinions, spoken in so soft a voice, and in a way I’m 
unused to in the woods, have done the mischief. But I 
now see plainly, and begin to understand the difference 
between us better, and will strive to keep down thought, 
and to go abroad again as I used to do, looking for the 
game and the inimy. Ah’s me! Mabel, I have indeed 
been on a false trail since we met! ” 

“ But you will now travel on the true one. In a little 
while you will forget all this, and think of me as a friend 
who owes you her life.” 

“ This may be the way in the town, but I doubt if it’s 
nat’ral to the woods. With us, when the eye sees a lovely 
sight it is apt to keep it long in view, or when the mind 
takes in an upright and proper feeling, it is loath to part 
with it.” 

“ But it is not a proper feeling that you should love me, 
nor am I a lovely sight. You will forget it all, when you 
come seriously to recollect that I am altogether unsuited 
to be your wife.” 

“ So I told the sergeant — but he would have it other- 
wise. I knew you was too young and beautiful for one 
of middle age, like myself, and who never was comely to 
look at, even in youth ; and then your ways have not been 
my ways, nor would a hunter’s cabin be a fitting place for 
one who was edicated among chiefs, as it were. If I were 
younger and comelier, though, like Jasper Eau-douce ” 

“ Never mind Jasper Eau-douce,” interrupted Mabel 
impatiently; “ we can talk of something else.” 

“Jasper is a worthy lad, Mabel; ay, and a comely,” 
returned the guileless guide, looking earnestly at the girl, 
as if he distrusted her judgment in speaking slightingly of 
his friend. “Were I only half as comely as Jasper West- 
ern, my misgivings in this affair would not have been so 
great, and they might not have been so true.” 

“We will not talk of Jasper Western,” repeated Mabel, 
the color mounting to her temples; “he may be good 
enough in a gale or on the lake, but he is not good enough 
to talk of here.” 

“ I fear me, Mabel, he is better than the man who is 
likely to be your husband, though the sergeant says that 
never can take place. But the sergeant was wrong once, 
and he may be wrong twice.” 


272 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“And who is likely to be my husband, Pathfinder? 
This is scarcely less strange than what has just passed be- 
tween us! ” 

“ I know it is nat’ral for like to seek like, and for them 
that have consorted much with officers’ ladies to wish to 
be officers’ ladies themselves. But, Mabel, I may speak 
plainly to you, I know, and I hope my words will not 
give you pain, for, now I understand what it is to be dis- 
appointed in such feelings, I wouldn’t wish to cause even 
a Mingo sorrow on this head. But happiness is not al- 
ways to be found in a marquee, any more than in a tent; 
and, though the officers’ quarters may look more tempting 
than the rest of the barracks, there is often great misery 
between husband and wife inside of their doors.” 

“I do not doubt it in the least, Pathfinder; and, did it 
rest with me to decide, I would sooner follow you to some 
cabin in the woods, and share your fortune, whether it 
might be better or worse, than go inside the door of any 
officer I know, with an intention of remaining there as its 
master’s wife.” 

“ Mabel, this is not what Lundie hopes or Lundie thinks. ” 

“ And what care I for Lundie ? He is major of the 55th, 
and may command his men to wheel and march about as 
he pleases, but he cannot compel me to wed the greatest 
or the meanest of his mess: besides, what can you know 
of Lundie’s wishes on such a subject ? ” 

“ From Lundie’s own mouth. The sergeant had told 
him that he wished me for a son-in-law; and the major, 
being an old and a true friend, conversed with me on the 
subject: he put it to me plainly, whether it would not be 
more ginerous in me to let an officer succeed, than to 
strive to make you share a hunter’s fortune. I owned 
the truth, I did ; and that was, that I thought it might, 
but when he told me that the quartermaster would be his 
choice, I would not abide by the conditions. No — no — 
Mabel; I know Davy Muir well, and, though he may 
make you a lady, he can never make you a happy woman, 
or himself a gentleman. I say this honestly, I do; for I 
now plainly see that the sergeant has been wrong.” 

“ My father has been very wrong, if he has said or done 
aught to cause you sorrow, Pathfinder; and so great is 
my respect for you, so sincere my friendship, that were it 


THE PATHFINDER. 


273 


not for one — I mean that no person need fear Lieutenant 
Muir’s influence with me. I would rather remain as I 
am, to my dying day, than become a lady at the cost of 
being his wife. ” 

“ I do not think you would say that which you do not 
feel, Mabel,” returned Pathfinder earnestly. 

“Not at such a moment, on such a subject, and least 
of all to you. No; Lieutenant Muir may find wives where 
he can — my name shall never be on his catalogue.” 

“Thank you — thank you for that, Mabel; for, though 
there is no longer any hope for me, I could never be happy 
were you to take to the quartermaster. I feared the 
commission might count for something, I did, and I know 
the man. It is not jealousy that makes me speak in this' 
manner, but truth, for I know the man. Now, were you 
to fancy a deserving youth, one like Jasper Western, for 
instance ” 

“ Why always mention Jasper Eau-douce, Pathfinder? 
he can have no concern with our friendships; let us talk 
of yourself, and of the manner in which you intend to 
pass the winter.” 

‘“Ah’s me! I’m little worth at the best, Mabel, unless 
it may be on a trail, or with the rifle; and less worth now 
that I’ve discovered the sergeant’s mistake. There is 
no need, therefore, of talking of me. It has been very 
pleasant to me to be near you so long, and even to fancy 
that the sergeant was right; but that is all over now. I 
shall go down to the lake with Jasper, and then there will 
be business to occupy us, and that will keep useless 
thoughts out of the mind.” 

“And you will forget this — forget me — not, not forget 
me either, Pathfinder; but you will resume your old pur- 
suits, and cease to think a girl of sufficient importance to 
disturb your peace ? ” 

“I never know’d it afore, Mabel, but girls, as you call 
them, though gals is the name I’ve been taught to use, 
are of more account in this life than I could have believed. 
Now, afore I know’d you, the new-born babe did not sleep 
more sweetly than I used to could ; my head was no sooner 
on the root, or the stone, or mayhap on the skin, than all 
was lost to the senses, unless it might be to go over in 
the night the business of the day, in a dream like: and 
18 


274 


THE PATHFINDER. 


there I lay till the moment came to be stirring, and tne 
swallows were not more certain to be on the wing with the 
light, than I to be afoot at the moment I wished to be. 
All this seemed a gift, and might be calculated on, even 
in the midst of a Mingo camp; for I’ve been outlying, in 
my time, in the very villages of the vagabonds.” 

“And all this will return to you, Pathfinder; for one so 
upright and sincere will never waste his happiness on a 
mere fancy. You will dream again of your hunts, of the 
deer you have slain, and of the beaver you have taken.” 

“ Ah’s me, Mabel, I wish never to dream again ! Before 
we met I had a sort of pleasure in following up the hounds 
in fancy, as it might be; and even in striking a trail of 
the Iroquois — nay, I’ve been in skirmages and ambush- 
ments in thought like, and found satisfaction in it, ac- 
cording to my gifts; but all those things have lost their 
charms since I’ve made acquaintance with you. Now, I 
think no longer of anything rude in my dreams, but, the 
very last night we stayed in the garrison, I imagined I had 
a cabin in a grove of sugar maples, and at the root of 
every tree was a Mabel Dunham, while the birds that were 
among the branches sang ballads, instead of the notes 
that natur’ gave, and even the deer stopped to listen. I 
tried to shoot a fa’an, but Killdeer missed fire, and the 
creatur’ laughed in my face, as pleasantly as a young girl 
laughs in her merriment, and then it bounded away, look- 
ing back as if expecting me to follow ? ” 

“No more of this, Pathfinder — we’ll talk no more of 
these things,” said Mabel, dashing tears from her eyes; 
for the simple, earnest manner in which this hardy woods- 
man betrayed the deep hold she had taken of his feelings 
nearly proved too much for her own generous heart. 
“ Now let us look for my father; he cannot be distant, as 
I heard his gun quite near.” 

“ The sergeant was wrong — yes, he was wrong, and it’s 
of no use to attempt to make the dove consort with the 
wolf.” 

“ Here comes my dear father,” interrupted Mabel ; “ let 
us look cheerful and happy, Pathfinder, as such good 
friends ought to look, and keep each other’s secrets.” 

A pause succeeded ; the sergeant’s foot was heard crush- 
ing the dried twigs hard by, and then his form appeared 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2 75 


shoving aside the bushes of a copse quite near. As he 
issued into the open ground the old soldier scrutinized 
his daughter and her companion, and, speaking good- 
naturedly, he said: 

“ Mabel, child, you are young and light of foot — look 
for a bird I’ve shot that just fell beyond the thicket of 
young hemlocks on the shore; and, as Jasper is showing 
signs of an intention of getting under way, you need not 
take the trouble to climb up this hill again, but we will 
meet you on the beach in a few minutes.” 

Mabel obeyed, bounding down the hill with the elastic 
step of youth and health. But, notwithstanding the light- 
ness of her steps, the heart of the girl was heavy, and no 
sooner was she hid from observation by the thicket, than 
she threw herself on the root of a tree and wept as if her 
heart would break. The sergeant watched her, until she 
disappeared, with a father’s pride, and then turned to his 
companion with a smile as kind and as familiar as his 
habits would allow him to use toward any. 

“ She has her mother’s lightness and activity, my friend, 
with somewhat of her father’s force,” he said. “Her 
mother was not quite as handsome, I think myself ; but 
the Dunhams were always thought comely, whether men 
or women. Well, Pathfinder, I take it for granted you’ve 
not overlooked the opportunity, but have spoken plainly 
to the girl ? W omen like frankness in matters of this sort. ” 

“ I believe Mabel and I understand each other at last, 
sergeant,” returned the other, looking another way to 
avoid the soldier’s face. 

“ So much the better. Some people fancy that a little 
doubt and uncertainty make love all the livelier, but I am 
one of those who think the plainer the tongue speaks the 
easier the mind will comprehend. Was Mabel surprised ? ” 

“I fear she was, sergeant; I fear she was taken quite 
by surprise — yes I do.” 

“Well, well, surprises in love are like an ambush in 
war, and quite as lawful; though it is not as easy to tell 
when a woman is surprised as to tell when it happens to 
an enemy. Mabel did not run away, my worthy friend, 
did she ? ” 

“ No, sergeant, Mabel did not try to escape; that I can 
say with a clear conscience.” 


276 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“I nope the girl was not too willing neither! Her 
mother was shy and coy for a month, at least — but frank- 
ness, after all, is a recommendation in man or woman.” 

“ That it is — that it is — and judgment too.” 

“You are not to look for too much judgment in a 
young creature of twenty, Pathfinder, but it will come 
with experience. A mistake in you or me, for instance, 
might not be so easily overlooked, but in a girl of Ma- 
bel’s years one is not to strain at a gnat lest they swallow 
a camel.” 

The muscles of the listener’s face twitched, as the ser- 
geant was thus delivering his sentiments, though the 
former had now recovered a portion of that stoicism which 
formed so large a part of his character, and which he had 
probably imbibed from long association with the Indians. 
His eyes rose and fell, and once a gleam shot athwart his 
hard features, as if he were about to indulge in his pecul- 
iar laugh; but the joyous feeling, if it really existed, was 
as quickly lost in a look allied to anguish. It was this 
unusual mixture of wild and keen mental agony with na- 
tive, simple joyousness, that had most struck Mabel, who, 
in the interview just related, had a dozen times been on 
the point of believing that her suitor’s heart was only 
lightly touched, as images of happiness and humor gleamed 
over a mind that was almost infantine in its simplicity and 
nature; an impression, however, that was soon driven 
away by the discovery of emotions so painful and so deep 
that they seemed to harrow the very soul. Indeed, in 
this respect, the Pathfinder was a mere child ; unpractised 
in the ways of the world, he had no idea of concealing a 
thought of any kind, and his mind received and reflected 
each emotion with the pliability and readiness of that 
period of life; the infant scarcely yielding its wayward 
imagination to the passing impression with greater facility 
than this man, so simple in all his personal feelings, so 
stern, stoical, masculine, and severe in all that touched 
his ordinary pursuits. 

“You say true, sergeant,” Pathfinder answered; “a 
mistake in one like you is a more serious matter.” 

“You will find Mabel sincere and honest in the end, 
give her but a little time.” 

“Ah’s me, sergeant!” 


THE PATHFINDER. 277 

A man of your merits would make an impression on a 
rock, give him time, Pathfinder/’ 

“ Sergeant Dunham, we are old fellow-campaigners — 
that is, as campaigns are carried on here in the wilder- 
ness; and we have done so many kind acts to each other 
that we can afford to be candid — what has caused you to 
believe that a girl like Mabel could ever fancy one as 
rude as I am ? ” 

“ What ? — why a variety of reasons, and good reasons, 
too, my friend. Those same acts of kindness, perhaps, 
and the campaigns you mention; moreover, you are my 
sworn and tried comrade.” 

“All this sounds well, so far as you and I be consarned, 
but they do not touch the case of your pretty daughter. 
She may think these very campaigns have destroyed the 
little comeliness I may once have had, and I am not quite 
sartain that being an old friend of her father would lead 
any young maiden’s mind into a particular affection for a 
suitor. Like loves like, I tell you, sergeant, and my gifts 
are not altogether the gifts of Mabel Dunham.” 

“These are some of your old modest qualms, Path- 
finder, and will do you no credit with the girl. Women 
distrust men who distrust themselves, and take to men 
who distrust nothing. Modesty is a capital thing in a re- 
cruit, I grant you, or in a young subaltern who has just 
joined, for it prevents his railing at the non-commissioned 
officers before he knows what to rail at; I’m not sure it 
is out of place in a commissary or a parson, but it’s the 
devil and all when it gets possession of either a real sol- 
dier or a lover. Have as little to do with it as possible, 
if you would win a woman’s heart. As for your doctrine 
that like love likes, it is as wrong as possible in matters 
of this sort. If like loved like, women would love one 
another, and men also. No — no — like loves dislike ” — 
the sergeant was merely a scholar of the camp — “ and you 
have nothing to fear from Mabel on that score. Look at 
Lieutenant Muir; the man has had five wives already, 
they tell me, and there is no more modesty in him than 
there is in a cat-o’-nine-tails.” 

“ Lieutenant Muir will never be the husband of Mabel 
Dunham, let him ruffle his feathers as much as he may.” 

“ That is a sensible remark of yours, Pathfinder, for my 


THE PATHFINDER. 


278 

mind is made up that you shall be my son-in-law. If I 
were an officer myself, Mr. Muir might have some chance; 
but time has placed one door between my child and my- 
self, and I don’t intend there shall be that of a marquee 
also.” 

“ Sergeant, we must let Mabel follow her own fancy; she 
is young and light of heart, and God forbid that any wish 
of mine should lay the weight of a feather on a mind that 
is all gayety now, or take one note of happiness from hei 
laughter.” 

“ Have you conversed freely with the girl ? ” the ser- 
geant demanded quickly, and with some asperity of man- 
ner. 

Pathfinder was too honest to deny a truth plain as that 
which the answer required, and yet too honorable to be- 
tray Mabel, and expose her to the resentment of one whom 
he well knew to be stern in his anger. 

“We have laid open our minds,” he said, “and, though 
Mabel’s is one that any man might love to look at, I find 
little there, sergeant, to make me think any better of 
myself.” 

“ The girl has not dared to refuse you — to refuse her 
father’s best friend ? ” 

Pathfinder turned his face away to conceal the look of 
anguish that consciousness told him was passing athwart 
it, but he continued the discourse in his own quiet, manly 
tones: 

“ Mabel is too kind to refuse anything, or to utter harsh 
words to a dog. I have not put the question in a way to 
be downright refused, sergeant.” 

“And did you expect my daughter to jump into your 
arms before you asked her ? She would not have been 
her mother’s child had she done any such thing, nor do I 
think she would have been mine. The Dunhams like 
plain dealings as well as the king’s majesty, but they are 
no jumpers. Leave me to manage this matter for you, 
Pathfinder, and there shall be no unnecessary delay. I’ll 
speak to Mabel myself, this very evening, using your 
name as principal in the affair.” 

“I’d rather not — I’d rather not, sergeant. Leave the 
matter to Mabel and me, and I think all will come right 
in the ind. Young gals be like timorsome birds, they do 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2 79 

u o t over-relish being hurried or spoken harshly to, neither. 
Leave tne matter to Mabel and me.'’ 

“On one condition I will, my friend; and that is, that 
you promise me, on the honor of a scout, that you will put 
the matter plainly to Mabel the first suitable opportunity, 
and no mincing of words.” 

“ I will ask her, sergeant — yes, I will ask her, on con- 
dition that you promise not to meddle in the affair — yes, 
I will promise to ask Mabel the question whether she will 
marry me, even though she laugh in my face at my doing 
so, on that condition.” 

Sergeant Dunham gave the desired promise very cheer- 
fully for he had completely wrought himself up into the 
belief that the man he so much esteemed and respected 
himself must be acceptable to his daughter. He had 
married a woman much younger than himself, and he saw 
no unfitness in the respective years of the intended couple. 
Mabel was educated so much above him, too, that he was 
not aware of the difference which actually existed between 
the parent and child, in this respect; for it is one of the 
most unpleasant features in the intercourse between knowl- 
edge and ignorance, taste and unsophistication, refine- 
ment and vulgarity, that the higher qualities are often 
necessarily subjected to the judgments of those who have 
absolutely no perception of their existence. It followed 
that Sergeant Dunham was not altogether qualified to 
appreciate his daughter’s tastes, or to form a very proba- 
ble conjecture of the direction taken by those feelings, 
which oftener depend on impulses and passion than on 
reason. Still, the worthy soldier was not so wrong in his 
estimate of the Pathfinder’s chances, as might at first ap- 
pear. Knowing, as he well did, all the sterling qualities 
of the man, his truth, integrity of purpose, courage, self- 
devotion, disinterestedness, it was far more unreasonable 
to suppose that qualities like these would produce a deep 
impression on any female heart, where there was an op- 
portunity to acquire a knowledge of their existence; and 
the father erred principally in fancying that the daughter 
might know, as it might be by intuition, what he himself 
had acquired by years of intercourse and adventure. 

As Pathfinder and his military friend descended the hill 
to the shore of the lake, the discourse did not flag. The 


28 o 


THE PATHFINDER. 


latter continued to persuade the former that his diffidence 
alone prevented complete success with Mabel, and that he 
had only to persevere in order to prevail. Pathfinder was 
much too modest by nature, and had been too plainly, 
though so delicately, discouraged, in the recent interview, 
to believe all he heard ; still the father used so many argu- 
ments that seemed plausible, and it was so grateful to 
fancy that the daughter might yet be his, the reader is not 
to be surprised when he is told that this unsophisticated 
being did not view Mabel’s recent conduct in precisely the 
light in which he may be inclined to view it himself. He 
did not credit all that the sergeant told him, it is true; 
but he began to think virgin coyness, and ignorance of 
her own feelings, might have induced Mabel to use the 
language she had. 

“The quartermaster is no favorite,” said Pathfinder, in 
answer to one of his companion’s remarks. “Mabel will 
never look on him as more than one who has had four or 
five wives already.” 

“Which is more than his share. A man may marry 
twice, without offence to good morals and decency, I 
allow, but four times is an aggravation.” 

“ I should think even marrying once, what Master Cap 
calls a circumstance! ” put in Pathfinder, laughing in his 
quiet way, for, by this time, his spirits had recovered 
some of their buoyancy. 

“It is indeed, my friend, and a most solemn circum- 
stance, too. If it were not that Mabel is to be your wife 
I would advise you to remain single. But here is the girl 
herself, and discretion is the word.” 

“Ah’s me! sergeant, I fear you are mistaken! ” 


CHAPTER XIX. 

“ Thus was this place 

A happy rural seat of various views.” — M ilton. 

Mabel was in waiting on the beach, and the canoe was 
soon launched. Pathfinder carried the party out through 
the surf in the same skilful manner he had brought it in; 
and though Mabel’s color heightened with excitement, 


THE PATHFINDER. 


281 


and her heart seemed often ready to leap out of her mouth 
again, they reached the side of the Scud without having 
received even a drop of spray. 

Ontario is like a quick-tempered man, sudden to be 
angered, and as soon appeased. The sea had already 
fallen, and, though the breakers bounded the shore as far 
as the eye could reach, it was merely in lines of bright- 
ness, that appeared and vanished like the returning waves 
produced by a stone that has been dropped into a pool. 
The cable of the Scud was scarce seen above the water, 
and Jasper had already hoisted his sails, in readiness to 
depart as soon as the expected breeze from the shore 
should fill the canvas. 

It was just sunset as the cutter’s mainsail flapped, and 
its stem began to sever the water. The air was light and 
southerly, and the head of the vessel was kept looking up 
along the south shore, it being the intention to get to the 
eastward again as fast as possible. The night that suc- 
ceeded was quiet, and the rest of those who slept deep 
and tranquil. 

Some difficulty occurred concerning the command of the 
vessel, but the matter had been finally settled by an ami- 
cable compromise. As the distrust of Jasper was far from 
being appeased, Cap retained a supervisory power, while 
the young man was allowed to work the craft, subject at 
all times to the control and interference of the old seaman. 
To this Jasper consented, in preference to exposing Mabel 
any longer to the dangers of their present situation; for, 
now that the violence of the elements had ceased, he well 
knew that the Montcalm would be in search of them. He 
had the discretion, however, not to reveal his apprehen- 
sions on this head, for it happened that the very means he 
deemed the best to escape the enemy were those which 
would be most likely to awaken new suspicions of his 
honesty in the minds of those who held the power to defeat 
his intentions. In other words, Jasper believed that the 
gallant young Frenchman who commanded the ship of the 
enemy would quit his anchorage under the fort of Niagara, 
and stand up the lake, as soon as the wind abated, in order 
to ascertain the fate of the Scud; keeping midway between 
the two shores, as the best means of commanding a broad 
view; and that, on his part, it would be expedient to hug 


282 


THE PATHFINDER* 


one coast or the other, not only to avoid a meeting, but as 
affording a chance of passing without detection, by blend- 
ing his sails and spars with objects on the land. He pre- 
ferred the south, because it was the weather shore, and 
because he thought it was that which the enemy would 
the least expect him to take, though it necessarily led 
near his settlements, and in front of one of the strongest 
posts he held in that part of the world. 

Of all this, however, Cap was happily ignorant, and the 
sergeant’s mind was too much occupied with the details 
of his military trust to enter into these niceties, which so 
properly belonged to another profession. No opposition 
was made, therefore, and, ere morning, Jasper had appar- 
ently dropped quietly into all his former authority, issuing 
his orders freely, and meeting with obedience without 
hesitation or cavil. 

The appearance of day brought all on board on deck 
again, and, as is usual with adventurers on the water, the 
opening horizon was curiously examined, as objects started 
out of the obscurity and the panorama brightened under 
the growing light. East, west, and north, nothing was 
visible but water, glittering in the rising sun; but south- 
ward stretched the endless belt of woods that then held 
Ontario in a setting of forest verdure. Suddenly an open- 
ing appeared ahead, and then the massive walls of a 
chateau-looking house, with outworks, bastions, block- 
houses, and palisadoes, frowned on a headland that bor- 
dered the outlet of a broad stream. Just as the fort be- 
came visible a little cloud rose over it, and the white 
ensign of France was seen fluttering from a lofty flag-staff. 

Cap gave an ejaculation as he witnessed this ungrateful 
exhibition, and he cast a quick, suspicious glance at his 
brother-in-law. 

“ The dirty table-cloth hung up to the air, as my name 
is Charles Cap!” he muttered, “ and we hugging this 
d — d shore, as if it were our wife and children met on 
the return from an India v’y’ge! Harkee, Jasper, are 
you in search of a cargo of frogs, that you keep so near 
in to this New France ? ” 

“ I hug the land, sir, in the hope of passing the enemy’s 
ship without being seen, for I think she must be some- 
where down here to leeward.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“Ay, ay; this sounds well, and I hope it may turn out 
as you say. I trust there is no undertow here? ” 

“We are on the weather shore, now,” said Jasper, 
smiling; “and I think you will admit, Master Cap, that a 
strong undertow makes an easy cable; we owe all our 
lives to the undertow of this very lake.” 

“French flummery! ” growled Cap, though he did not 
care to be heard by Jasper. “Give me a fair, honest, 
English-Yankee- American tow, above board, and above 
water too, if I must have a tow at all, and none of your 
sneaking drift that is below the surface, where one can 
neither see nor feel. I dare say, if the truth could be 
come at, that this late escape of ours was all a contrived 
affair. ” 

“We have now a good opportunity, at least, to recon- 
noitre the enemy’s post at Niagara, brother, for such I 
take this fort to be,” put in the sergeant. “ Let us be all 
eyes in passing, and remember that we are almost in the 
face of the enemy.” 

This advice of the sergeant’s needed nothing to enforce 
it, for the interest and novelty of passing a spot occupied 
by human beings were of themselves sufficient to attract 
deep attention in that scene of a vast but deserted nature. 
The wind was now fresh enough to urge the Scud through 
the water with considerable velocity, and Jasper eased 
her helm as she opened the river, and luffed nearly into 
the mouth of that noble strait, or river, as it is termed. 
A dull, distant, heavy roar came down through the open- 
ing in the banks, swelling on the currents of the air, like 
the deeper notes of some immense organ, and occasion- 
ally seeming to cause the earth itself to tremble. 

“That sounds like surf on some long, unbroken coast! ” 
exclaimed Cap, as a swell deeper than common came to 
his ears. 

“ Ay, that is such surf as we have in this quarter of the 
world,” Pathfinder answered. “There is no undertow 
there, Master Cap, but all the water that strikes the rocks 
stays there, so far as going back ag’in is consarned. That 
is old Niagara that you hear, or this noble stream tum- 
bling down a mountain! ” 

“ No one will have the impudence to pretend that this 
fine broad river falls over yonder hills ? ” 


284 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ It does, Master Cap, it does; and all for the want of 
stairs, or a road, to come down by. This is natur’, as we 
have it up hereaway, though I dare say you beat us down 
on the ocean. Ah’s me! Mabel; a pleasant hour it would 
be if we could walk on the shore some ten or fifteen miles 
up this stream, and gaze on all that God has done there! ” 

“You have, then, seen these renowned falls, Path- 
finder ? ” the girl eagerly inquired. 

“I have — yes, I have; and an awful sight I witnessed 
at that same time. The Sarpent and I were out scouting 
about the garrison there, when he told me that the tradi- 
tions of his people gave an account of a mighty cataract 
in this neighborhood, and he asked me to vary from the 
line of march a little, to look at the wonder. I had heard 
some marvels consarning the spot, from the soldiers of the 
60th, which is my nat’ral corps like, and not the 55th, 
with which I have sojourned so much of late; but there 
are so many terrible liars in all rijiments, that I hardly 
believed half they told me. Well, we went; and though 
we expected to be led by our ears, and to hear some of 
that awful roaring that we hear to-day, we were disap- 
p’inted, for natur’ was not then speaking in thunder, as 
she is this morning. Thus it is, in the forest, Master 
Cap ; there being moments when God seems to be walking 
abroad in power, and, then again, there is a calm over 
all, as if His spirit lay in quiet along the ’arth. Well, 
we came suddenly upon the stream, a short distance above 
the fall, and a young Delaware, who was in our company, 
found a bark canoe, and he would push into the current, 
to reach an island that lies in the very centre of the con- 
fusion and strife. We told him of his folly, we did, and 
we reasoned with him on the wickedness of tempting 
Providence by seeking danger that led to no ind ; but the 
youth among the Delawares are very much the same as 
the youth among the soldiers, risky and vain. All we 
could say did not change his mind, and the lad had his 
way. To me it seems, Mabel, that whenever a thing is 
really grand and potent, it has a quiet majesty about it, 
that is altogether unlike the frothy and flustering manner 
of smaller matters, and so it was with them rapids. The 
canoe was no sooner fairly in them, than down it went, 
as it might be, as one sails through the air on the ’arth, 


THE PATHFINDER. 


285 


and no skill of the young Delaware could resist the stream. 
And yet he struggled manfully for life, using the paddle 
to the last, like the deer that is swimming to cast the 
hounds. At first, he shot across the current so swiftly 
that we thought he would prevail, but he had miscalcu- 
lated his distance, and when the truth really struck him, 
he turned the head up stream, and struggled in a way that 
was fearful to look at. I could have pitied him even had 
he been a Mingo! For a few moments his efforts were so 
frantic, that he actually prevailed over the power of the 
cataract; but natur’ has its limits, and one faltering stroke 
of the paddle sent him back, and then he lost ground, foot 
by foot, inch by inch, until he got near the spot where the 
river looked even and green, and as if it were made of 
millions of threads of water, all bent over some huge rock, 
when he shot backward like an arrow and disappeared, the 
bow of the canoe tipping just enough to let us see what 
had become of him. I met a Mohawk, some years later, 
who had witnessed the whole affair from the bed of the 
stream below, and he told me that the Delaware continued 
to paddle in the air, until he was lost in the mists of the 
falls ! ” 

“And what became of the poor wretch ? ” demanded 
Mabel, who had been strongly interested by the natural 
eloquence of the speaker. 

“ He went to the happy hunting-grounds of his people, 
no doubt; for, though he was risky and vain, he was also 
just and brave. Yes, he died foolishly, but the Manitou 
of the red-skins has compassion on his creatur’s as well as 
the God of a Christian! 

A gun at this moment was discharged from a block- 
house near the fort, and the shot, one of little weight, 
came whistling over the cutter’s mast, an admonition to 
approach no nearer. Jasper was at the helm, and he kept 
away, smiling at the same time as if he felt no anger at 
the rudeness of the salutation. The Scud was now in the 
current, and her outward set soon carried her far enough 
to leeward to avoid the danger of a repetition of the shot, 
and then she quietly continued her course along the land. 
As soon as the river was fairly opened, Jasper ascertained 
that the Montcalm was not at anchor in it ; and a man sent 
aloft came down with the report that the horizon showed 


286 


THE PATHFINDER. 


no sail. The hope was now strong that the artifice of 
Jasper had succeeded, and that the French commander 
had missed them by keeping the middle of the lake as he 
steered toward its head. 

All that day the wind hung to the southward, and the 
cutter continued her course, about a league from the land, 
running six or eight knots an hour in perfectly smooth 
water Although the scene had one feature of monotony, 
the outline of unbroken forest, it was not without its in- 
terest and pleasures. Various headlands presented them- 
selves, and the cutter, in running from one to another, 
stretched across bays so deep as almost to deserve the 
name of gulfs, but nowhere did the eye meet with the 
evidences of civilization. Rivers occasionally poured their 
tribute into the great reservoir of the lake, but their banks 
could be traced inland for miles by the same outline of 
trees; and even large bays that lay embosomed in woods, 
communicating with Ontario only by narrow outlets, ap- 
peared and disappeared without bringing with them a sin- 
gle trace of a human habitation. 

Of all on board, the Pathfinder viewed the scene with 
the most unmingled delight. His eyes feasted on the 
endless line of forest, and, more than once that day, not- 
withstanding he found it so grateful to be near Mabel, 
listening to her pleasant voice, and echoing, in feelings 
at least, her joyous laugh, did his soul pine to be wander- 
ing beneath the high arches of the maples, oaks, and lin- 
dens, where his habits had induced him to fancy lasting 
and true joys were only to be found. Cap viewed the 
prospect differently. More than once he expressed his 
disgust at there being no lighthouses, church-towers, 
beacons, or roadsteads, with their shipping. Such another 
coast, he protested, the world did not contain; and, tak- 
ing the sergeant aside, he gravely assured him that the 
region could never come to anything, as the havens were 
neglected, the rivers had a deserted and useless look, and 
that even the breeze had a smell of the forest about it, 
which spoke ill of its properties. 

But the humors of the different individuals in her did 
not stay the speed of the Scud. When the sun was set- 
ting, she was already a hundred miles on her route toward 
Oswego, into which river Sergeant Dunham now thought 


THE PATHFINDER. 


287 


it his duty to go in order to receive any communications 
that Major Duncan might please to make. With a view 
to effect this purpose, Jasper continued to hug the shore 
all night; and, though the wind began to fail him toward 
morning, it lasted long enough to carry the cutter up to 
a point that was known to be but a league or two from 
the fort. Here the breeze came out light at the north- 
ward, and the cutter hauled a little from the land in order 
to obtain a safe offing should it come on to blow, or should 
the weather again get to be easterly. 

When the day dawned, the cutter had the mouth of the 
Oswego well under her lee, distant about two miles, and 
just as the morning gun from the fort was fired, Jasper 
gave the order to ease off the sheets, and to bear up for 
his port. At that moment a cry from the forecastle drew 
all eyes toward the point on the eastern side of the outlet, 
and there, just without the range of shot from the light 
guns of the works, with her canvas reduced to barely 
enough to keep her stationary, lay the Montcalm evidently 
in waiting for their appearance. To pass her was impossi- 
ble, for, by filling her sails, the French ship could have 
intercepted them in a few minutes; and the circumstances 
called for a prompt decision. After a short consultation, 
the sergeant again changed his plan, determining to make 
the best of his way toward the station for which he had 
been originally destined, trusting to the speed of the Scud 
to throw the enemy so far astern as to leave no clew to 
her movements. 

The cutter, accordingly, hauled upon a wind, with the 
least possible delay, with everything set that would draw. 
Guns were fired from the fort, ensigns shown, and the 
ramparts were again crowded. But sympathy was all the 
aid that Lundie could lend to his party; and the Montcalm , 
also firing four or five guns of defiance, and throwing 
abroad several of the banners of France, was soon in 
chase, under a cloud of canvas. 

For several hours the two vessels were pressing through 
the water as fast as possible, making short stretches to 
windward, apparently with a view to keep the port under 
their lee, the one to enter it, if possible, and the other 
to intercept it in the attempt. 

At meridian, the French ship was hull down dead to 


288 


THE PATHFINDER. 


leeward, the disparity of sailing on a wind being very 
great, and some islands were near by, behind which Jasper 
said it would be possible for the cutter to conceal her fu- 
ture movements. Although Cap and the sergeant, and 
particularly Lieutenant Muir, to judge by his language, 
still felt a good deal of distrust of the young man, and 
Frontenac was not distant, this advice was followed, for 
time pressed, and the quartermaster discreetly observed 
that Jasper could not well betray them without running 
openly into the enemy’s harbor — a step they could at any 
time prevent, since the only cruiser of force the French 
possessed at the moment was under their lee, and not in 
a situation to do them any immediate injury. 

Left to himself, Jasper Western soon proved how much 
was really in him. He weathered upon the islands, passed 
them, and, on coming out to the eastward, kept broad 
away, with nothing in sight in his wake or to leeward. 
By sunset, again, the cutter was up with the first of the 
islands, that lie in the outlet of the lake, and ere it was 
dark she was running through the narrow channels on her 
way to the long-sought station. At nine o’clock, how- 
ever, Cap insisted that they should anchor, for the maze 
of islands became so complicated and obscure, that he 
feared at every opening the party would find themselves 
under the guns of a French fort. Jasper consented cheer- 
fully, it being a part of his standing instructions to ap- 
proach the station under such circumstances as would 
prevent the men from obtaining any very accurate notions 
of its position, lest a deserter might betray the little garri- 
son to the enemy. 

The Scud was brought to in a small retired bay, where 
it would have been difficult to find her by daylight, and 
where she was perfectly concealed at night, when all but 
a solitary sentinel on deck sought their rest. Cap had 
been so harassed during the previous eight-and-forty 
hours that his slumbers were long and deep, nor did he 
aw T ake from his first nap until the day was just beginning 
to dawn. His eyes were scarcely open, however, when 
his nautical instinct told him that the cutter was under 
way. Springing up, he found the Scud threading the 
islands again, with no one on deck but Jasper and the 
pilot, unless the sentinel be excepted, who had not in the 


THE PATHFINDER. 28 9 

least interfered with movements that he had every reason 
to believe were as regular as they were necessary. 

“ How’s this, Master Western?” demanded Cap, with suffi- 
cient fierceness for the occasion — “ are you running us into 
Frontenac at last, and we all asleep below, like so many 
marines waiting for the ‘sentry go ’ ? ” 

“This is according to orders, Master Cap, Major Dun- 
can having commanded me never to approach the station 
unless at a moment when the people were below; for he 
does not wish there should be more pilots in these waters 
than the king has need of.” 

“Whe-ew! a pretty job I should have made of run- 
ning down among these bushes and rocks, with no one on 
deck! why, a regular York branch could make nothing at 
all of such a channel.” 

“I always thought, sir,” said Jasper, smiling, “you 
would have done better had you left the cutter in my hands 
until she had safely reached her place of destination.” 

“We should have done it, Jasper; we should have done 
it, had it not been for a circumstance — these circum- 
stances are serious matters, and no prudent man will over- 
look them.” 

“Well, sir, I hope there is now an end of them. We 
shall arrive in less than an hour, if the wind hold, and 
then you’ll be safe from any circumstances that I can 
contrive.” 

“Humph!” 

Cap was obliged to acquiesce, and, as everything around 
him had the appearance of Jasper’s being sincere, there 
was not much difficulty in making up his mind to submit. 
It would not have been easy, indeed, for a person the 
most sensitive on the subject of circumstances, to fancy 
that the Scud was anywhere in the vicinity of a port as 
long established, and as well known on the frontier, as 
Frontenac. The islands might not have been literally a 
thousand in number, but they were so numerous and small 
as to baffle calculation, though occasionally one of larger 
size than common was passed. Jasper had quitted what 
might have been termed the main channel, and was wind- 
ing his way with a good stiff breeze, and a favorable cur- 
rent, through passes that were sometimes so narrow that 
there appeared to be barely room sufficient for the Scuas 

19 


& 


THE PATHFINDER. 


spars to dear the trees, while at other moments fte shot 
across little bays, and buried the cutter again amid rocks, 
forests, and bushes. The water was so transparent that 
there was no occasion for the lead, and, being of equal 
depth little risk was actually run, though Cap, with his mari- 
time habits, was in a constant fever lest they should strike. 

“ I give it up! — I give it up, Pathfinder! ” the old sea- 
man at length exclaimed, when the little vessel emerged 
in safety from the twentieth of these narrow inlets, through 
which she had been so boldly carried; “ this is defying 
the very nature of seamanship, and sending all its laws 
and rules to the d — 1! ” 

“Nay, nay, Salt-water; ’ tis the parfection of the art. 
You perceive that Jasper never falters, but, like a hound 
with a true nose, he runs with his head high, as if he had 
a strong scent. My life on it the lad brings us out right 
in the ind, as he would have done in the beginning had 
we given him leave.” 

“ No pilot, no lead, no beacons, buoys, or lighthouses, 


“ Trail! ” interrupted Pathfinder, “ for that to me is the 
most mysterious part of the business. Water leaves no 
trail, as every one knows, and yet here is Jasper moving 
ahead as boldly as if he had before his eyes the prints of 
moccasins on leaves, as plainly as we can see the sun in 
the heaven.” 

“ D — e, if I believe there is even any compass! ” 
“Stand by to haul down the jib,” called out Jasper, 
who merely smiled at the remarks of his companion. 
“ Haul down — starboard your helm — starboard hard — so — 
meet her — gently there with the helm — touch her lightly 
— now jump ashore with the fast, lads — no, heave — there 
are some of our people ready to take it. ” 

All this passed so quickly as barely to allow the specta- 
tors time to note the different evolutions, ere the Scud had 
been thrown into the wind until her mainsail shivered, 
next cast a little by the use of the rudder only, and then 
she set bodily alongside of a natural rocky quay, where 
she was immediately secured by good fasts run to the 
shore. In a word, the station was reached, and the men 
of the 55th were greeted by their expecting comrades with 
the satisfaction that a relief usually brings. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


291 

Mabel sprang upon the shore with a delight which she 
did not care to express, and her father led his men after 
her with an alacrity which proved how wearied he had 
become of the cutter. The Station, as the place was 
familiarly termed by the soldiers of the 55th, was indeed 
a spot to raise expectations of enjoyment among those 
who had been cooped up so long in a vessel of the dimen- 
sions of the Scud. None of the islands were high, though 
all lay at a sufficient elevation above the water to render 
them perfectly healthy and secure. Each had more or 
less of wood, and the greater number at that distant day 
were clothed with the virgin forest. The one selected by 
the troops for their purpose was small, containing about 
twenty acres of land, and by some of the accidents of the 
wilderness it had been stripped of its trees, probably cen- 
turies before the period of which we are writing, and a 
little grassy glade covered nearly half its surface. It was 
the opinion of the officer who had made the selection of 
this spot for a military post, that a sparkling spring near 
by had early caught the attention of the Indians, and that 
they had long frequented this particular place, in their 
hunts, or when fishing for salmon — a circumstance that 
had kept down the second growth, and given time for the 
natural grasses to take root, and to gain dominion over 
the soil. Let the cause be what it might, the effect was 
to render this island far more beautiful than most of those 
around it, and to lend it an air of civilization that was 
then wanting in so much of that vast region of country. 

The shores of Station Island were completely fringed 
with bushes, and great care had been taken to preserve 
them, as they answered as a screen to conceal the persons 
and things collected within their circle. Favored by this 
shelter, as well as by that of several thickets of trees and 
different copses, some six or eight low huts had been 
erected to be used as quarters for the officer and his men, 
to contain stores, and to serve the purposes of kitchen, 
hospital, etc. These huts were built of logs, in the usual 
manner, had been roofed by bark brought from a distance, 
lest the signs of labor should attract attention, and, as 
they had now been inhabited some months, were as com- 
fortable as dwellings of that description usually ever get 
to be. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


292 

At the eastern extremity of the island, however, was a 
densely-wooded peninsula, with a thicket of underbrush 
so closely matted as nearly to prevent the possibility of 
seeing across it so long as the leaves remained on the 
branches. Near the narrow neck that connected this 
acre with the rest of the island, a small block-house had 
been erected with some attention to its means of resist- 
ance. The logs were bullet-proof, squared and jointed 
with a care to leave no defenseless points; the windows 
were loopholes; the door massive and small ; and the roof, 
like the rest of the structure, was framed of hewn timber, 
covered properly with bark to exclude the rain. The 
lower apartment, as usual, contained stores and provisions; 
the second story was intended for a dwelling, as well as 
for the citadel, and a low garret was subdivided into two 
or three rooms, and could hold the pallets of some ten or 
fifteen persons. All the arrangements were exceedingly 
simple and cheap, but they were sufficient to protect the 
soldiers against the effects of a surprise. As the whole 
building was considerably less than forty feet high, its 
summit was concealed by the tops of the trees, except 
from the eyes of those who had reached the interior of the 
island. On that side the view was open from the upper 
loops, though bushes, even there, more or less concealed 
the base of the wooden tower. 

The object being purely defence, care had been taken 
to place the block-house so near an opening in the lime- 
stone rock that formed the base of the island, as to admit 
of a bucket’s being dropped into the water in order to ob- 
tain that great essential in the event of a siege. In order 
to facilitate this operation, and to enfilade the base of the 
building, the upper stories projected several feet beyond 
the lower in the manner usual to block-houses, and pieces 
of wood filled the apertures cut in the log flooring, which 
were intended as loops and traps. The communications 
between the different stories were by means of ladders. 
If we add that these block-houses were intended as cita- 
dels, for garrisons or settlements to retreat to in cases of 
attack, the general reader will obtain a sufficiently correct 
idea of the arrangements it is our wish to explain. 

But the situation of the island itself formed its princi- 
pal merit as a military position. Lying in the midst of 


THE PATHFINDER. 


293 


twenty others, it was not an easy matter to find it, since 
boats might pass quite near, and, by the glimpses caught 
through the openings, this particular island would be 
taken for a part of some other. Indeed, the channels 
between the islands that lay around the one we have been 
describing were so narrow, that it was even difficult to say 
which portions of the land were connected, or which sep- 
arated, even as one stood in their centre with the express 
desire of ascertaining the truth. The little bay in par- 
ticular that Jasper used as a harbor was so embowered 
with bushes and shut in with islands, that, the sails of the 
cutter being lowered, her own people, on one occasion, 
had searched for hours before they could find the Scud , 
in their return from a short excursion among the adjacent 
channels in quest of fish. In short, the place was ad- 
mirably adapted to its present uses, and its natural ad- 
vantages had been as ingeniously improved as economy 
and the limited means of a frontier post would very well 
allow. 

The hour that succeeded the arrival of the Scud was one 
of hurried excitement. The party in possession had done 
nothing worthy of being mentioned, and, wearied with 
their seclusion, they were all eager to return to Oswego. 
The sergeant and the officer he came to relieve had no 
sooner gone through the little ceremonies of transferring 
the command, than the latter hurried on board the Scud 
with his whole party; and Jasper, who would gladly have 
passed the day on the island, was required to get under 
way forthwith, the wind promising a quick passage up the 
river and across the lake. Before separating, however, 
Lieutenant Muir, Cap, and the sergeant had a private con- 
ference with the ensign who had been relieved, in which 
the latter was made acquainted with the suspicions that 
existed against the fidelity of the young sailor. Promis- 
ing due caution the officer embarked, and in less than 
three hours from the time when she had arrived the cutter 
was again in motion. 

Mabel had taken possession of a hut, and with female 
readiness and skill she made all the simple little do- 
mestic arrangements of which the circumstances would 
admit, not only for her own comfort, but for that of her 
father. To save labor, a mess table was prepared in a 


294 


THE PATHFINDER.. 


hut set apart for that purpose, where all the heads of the^ 
detachment were to eat, the soldier’s wife performing the 
necessary labor. The hut of the sergeant, which was 
the best on the island, being thus freed from any of the 
vulgar offices of a household, admitted of such a display 
of womanly taste that, for the first time since her arrival 
on the frontier, the girl felt proud of her home. As soon 
as these important duties were discharged, she strolled 
out on the island, taking a path that led through the 
pretty glade, and which conducted to the only point that 
was not covered with bushes. Here she stood gazing at 
the limpid water, which lay with scarcely a ruffle on it at 
her feet, musing on the novel situation in which she was 
placed, and permitting a pleasing and deep excitement to 
steal over her feelings, as she remembered the scenes 
through which she had so lately passed, and conjectured 
those which still lay veiled in the future. 

“You’re a beautiful fixture, in a beautiful spot, Mis- 
tress Mabel,” said David Muir, suddenly appearing at her 
elbow, “ and I’ll no engage you’re not just the handsom- 
est of the two. ” 

“ I will not say, Mr. Muir, that compliments on my 
person are altogether unwelcome, for I should not gain 
credit for speaking the truth, perhaps,” answered Mabel, 
with spirit; “but I will say that, if you will condescend 
to address to me some remarks of a different nature, I 
may be lead to believe you think I have sufficient faculties- 
to understand them.” 

“Hoot! your mind, beautiful Mabel, is polished just 
like the barrel of a soldier’s musket, and your conversa- 
tion is only too discreet and wise for a poor d — 1 who has- 
been chewing birch up here these four years on the lines, 
instead of receiving it in an application that has the virtue 
of imparting knowledge. But you are no sorry, I take it, 
young lady, that you’ve got your pretty foot on terra 
jirma once more.” 

“I thought so, two hours since, Mr. Muir; but the 
Scud looks so beautiful, as she sails through these vistas 
of trees, that I almost regret I am no longer one of her 
passengers.” 

As Mabel ceased speaking, she waved her handkerchief 
in return to a salutation from Jasper, who kept his eyes 


THE PATHFINDER. 


295 


fastened on her form, until the white sans of the cutter 
had swept round a point, and were nearly lost behind its 
green fringe of leaves. 

“ There they go, and I’ll no say ‘joy go with them,’ 
but may they have the luck to return safely, for without 
them we shall be in danger of passing the winter on this 
island ; unless indeed, we have the alternative of the cas- 
tle at Quebec! Yon Jasper Eau-douce is a vagrant sort 
of a lad, and they have reports of him in the garrison that 
it pains my very heart to hear. Your worthy father, and 
almost as worthy uncle, have none of the best opinion of 
him. ” 

“ I am sorry to hear it, Mr. Muir; I doubt not that time 
will remove all their distrust.” 

“If time would only remove mine, pretty Mabel,” re- 
joined the quartermaster, in a wheedling tone, “ I should 
feel no envy of the commander-in-chief. I think if I were 
in a condition to retire, the sergeant would just step into 
my shoes.” 

“ If my dear father'is worthy to step into your shoes, 
Mr. Muir,” returned the girl, with malicious pleasure, “I 
am sure the qualification is mutual, and that you are every 
way worthy to step into his.” 

“The deuce is in the child! you would not reduce me 
to the rank of a non-commissioned officer, Mabel.” 

“ No, indeed, sir, I was not thinking of the army at all 
as you spoke of retiring. My thoughts were more ego- 
tistical, and I was thinking how much you reminded me 
of my dear father, by your experience, wisdom, and suit- 
ableness, to take his place as the head of a family.” 

“ As its bridegroom, pretty Mabel, but not as its par- 
ent, or natural chief. I see how it is with you, loving 
your repartee, and brilliant with wit! Well, I like spirit 
in a young woman, so be it not the spirit of a scold. This 
Pathfinder is an extraordinair, Mabel, if truth may be said 
of the man.” 

“ Truth should be said of him, or nothing. Pathfinder is 
my friend — my very particular friend, Mr. Muir, and no evil 
can be said of him, in my presence, that I shall not deny.” 

“ I shall say nothing evil of him, I can assure you, 
Mabel, but, at the same time. I doubt if much good can 
be said in his favor.” 


2g6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ He is at least expert with the rifle/' returned Mabel, 
smiling. “ That you cannot deny. ” 

“ Let him have all the credit of his exploits in that way, 
if you please; but he is as illiterate as a Mohawk.” 

“ He may not understand Latin, but his knowledge of 
Iroquois is greater than that of most men, and it is the 
more useful language of the two, in this part of the world. ” 

“ If Lundie himself were to call on me for an opinion 
which I admired most, your person or your wit, beautiful 
and caustic Mabel, I should be at a loss to answer. My 
admiration is so nearly divided between them, that I often 
fancy this is the one that bears off the palm, and then the 
other! Ah! the late Mrs. Muir was a paragon in that 
way, also.” 

“ The latest Mrs. Muir, did you say, sir ? ” asked Mabel, 
looking up innocently at her companion. 

“ Hoot — hoot! That is some of Pathfinder’s scandal. 
Now, I dare say that the fellow has been trying to per- 
suade you, Mabel, that I have had more than one wife 
already.” * 

“ In that cases, his time would have been thrown away, 
sir, as everybody knows that you have been so unfortu- 
nate as to have had four.” 

“ Only three, as sure as my name is David Muir. The 
fourth is pure scandal — or rather, pretty Mabel, she is 
yet in petto , as they say at Rome; and that means, in 
matters of love, in the heart, my dear.” 

“Well, I’m glad I’m not that fourth person in petto , or 
anything else, as I should not like to be a scandal! ” 

“No fear of that, charming Mabel; for, were you the 
fourth, all the others would be forgotten, and your won- 
derful beauty and merit would at once elevate you to the 
first. No fear of your being fourth in anything.” 

“There is consolation in that assurance, Mr. Muir,” 
said Mabel, laughing, “ whatever there may be in your 
other assurance: for I confess I should prefer being even 
a fourth-rate beauty to being a fourth wife.” 

So saying, she tripped away, leaving the quartermaster 
to meditate on his want of success. Mabel had been in- 
duced to use her female means of defence thus freely, 
partly because her suitor had of late been so pointed as 
to st^H m need of a pretty strong repulse, and partly on 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2 97 


account of his innuendoes against Jasper and the Path- 
finder. Though full of spirit and quick of intellect, she 
was not naturally pert; but on the present occasion, she 
thought that circumstances called for more than usual de- 
cision. When she left her companion, therefore, she be- 
lieved she was now finally released from attentions that 
she thought as ill bestowed as they were certainly dis- 
agreeable. Not so, however, with David Muir; accus- 
tomed to rebuffs, and familiar with the virtue of persever- 
ance, he saw no reason to despair, though the half menacing, 
half self-satisfied manner in which he shook his head toward 
the retreating girl, might have betrayed designs as sinister 
as they were determined. While he was thus occupied, 
the Pathfinder approached, and got within a few feet of 
him, unseen. 

“ ’Twill never do, quartermaster, ’twill never do! ” com- 
menced the latter, laughing in his noiseless way; “she is 
young and active, and none but a quick foot can overtake 
her. They tell me you are her suitor, if you’re not her 
follower.” 

“And I hear the same of yourself, man, though the pre- 
sumption would be so great that I scarce can think it true. ” 

“I fear you’re right, I do; yes, I fear you’re right! — 
when I consider myself — what I am — how little I know, 
and how rude my life has been, I altogether distrust my 
claim, even to think a moment, of one so tutored, and 
gay, and light of heart, and delicate ” 

“You forget handsome,” coarsely interrupted Muir. 

“And handsome, too, I fear,” returned the meek and 
self-abased guide; “ I might have said handsome, at once, 
among her other qualities, for the ydung fa’an just as it 
learns to bound, is not more pleasant to the eye of the 
hunter, than Mabel is lovely in mine. I do, indeed, fear 
that all the thoughts I have harbored about her are vain 
and presumptuous.” 

“ If you think this, my friend, of your own accord, and 
natural modesty, as it might be, my duty to you as an old 
fellow-campaigner compels me to say ” 

“Quartermaster,” interrupted the other, regarding his 
companion keenly, “ you and I have lived together much 
behind the ramparts of forts, but very little in the open 
woods, or in front of the inimy.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


298 

“ Garrison or tent, it all passes for part of the same 
campaign, you know, Pathfinder; and then, my duty keeps 
me much within sight of the store-houses, greatly contrary 
to my inclinations, as ye may well suppose, having your- 
self the ardor of battle in your temperament. But had 
ye heard what Mabel has just been saying of you, ye’d no 
think another minute of making yourself agreeable to the 
saucy and uncompromising hussy.” 

Pathfinder looked earnestly at the lieutenant, for it was 
impossible he should not feel an interest in what might be 
Mabel’s opinion; but he had too much of the innate and 
true feeling of a gentleman to ask to hear what another 
had said of him. Muir, however, was not to be foiled by 
this self-denial and self-respect; for, believing he had a 
man of great truth and simplicity to deal with, he deter- 
mined to practise on his credulity, as one means of get- 
ting rid of his rivalry. He therefore pursued the subject 
as soon as he perceived that his companion’s self-denial 
was stronger than his curiosity. 

“ You ought to know her opinion, Pathfinder,” he con- 
tinued; “and I think every man ought to hear what his 
friends and acquaintances say of him ; and so, by way of 
proving my own regard for your character and feelings, 
I’ll just tell you, in as few words as possible. You know 
that Mabel has a wicked, malicious way with those eyes 
of her own, when she has a mind to be hard upon one’s 
feelings.” 

“ To me her eyes, Lieutenant Muir, have always seemed 
winning and soft — though I will acknowledge that they 
sometimes laugh — yes, I have known them to laugh; and 
that right heartily, and with downright good-will.” 

“Well, it was just that, then; her eyes were laughing 
with all their might, as it were, and, in the midst of ail 
her fun, she broke out with an exclamation to this effect 
— I hope ’twill no hurt your sensibility, Pathfinder ? ” 

“I will not say, quartermaster, I will not say — Mabel’s 
opinion of me is of more account than that of most others.” 

“Then I’ll no tell ye, but just keep discretion on the 
subject; and why should a man be telling another what 
his friends say of him, especially when they happen to say 
that which may not be pleasant to hear? I’D not add an- 
other “~~rd to this present communication, ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


2 99 


“I cannot make you speak, quartermaster, if you are 
not so minded, and perhaps it is better for me not to 
know Mabel’s opinion, as you seem to think it is not to 
my favor. Ah’s me — if we could be what we wished to 
be, instead of being only what we are, there would be a 
great difference in our characters, and knowledge, and 
appearance. One may be rude, and coarse, and ignorant, 
and yet happy, if he does not know it; but it is hard to 
see our own failings in the strongest light, just as we wish 
to hear the least about them.” 

“That’s just the rationale , as the French say, of the 
matter; and so I was telling Mabel, when she ran away 
and left me. You noticed the manner in which she skipped 
off, as you appproached ? ” 

“ It was very observable,” answered Pathfinder, drawing 
a long breath, and clinching the barrel of his rifle, as if 
the fingers would bury themselves in the iron. 

“ It was more than observable — it was flagrant — that’s 
just the word, and the dictionary wouldn’t supply a better, 
after an hour’s search. Well, you must know, Pathfinder, 
for I cannot reasonably deny you the gratification of hear- 
ing this — so you must know, the minx bounded off in that 
manner, in preference to hearing what I had to say in 
your justification.” 

“ And what could you find to say in my behalf, quarter- 
master? ” 

“Why, d’ye understand, my friend, I was ruled by cir- 
cumstances, and no ventured indiscreetly into generalities, 
but was preparing to meet particulars, as it might be, with 
particulars. If you were thought wild, half-savage, or 
of a frontier formation, I could tell her, ye know, that 
it came of the frontier, wild, and half-savage life ye’d 
led; and all her objections must cease at once, or there 
would be a sort of a misunderstanding with Providence.” 

“ And did you tell her this, quartermaster ? ” 

“I’ll no swear to the exact words, but the idea was 
prevalent in my mind, ye’ll understand. The girl was 
impatient, and would not hear the half I had to say; but 
away she skipped, as ye saw with your own eyes, Path- 
finder, as if her opinion were fully made up, and she cared 
to listen no longer. I fear her mind may be said to have 
come to its conclusion.” 


3 °° 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ I fear it has, indeed, quartermaster, and her father, 
after all, is mistaken. Yes, yes; the sergeant has fallen 
into a grievous error. ” 

“Well, man, why need ye lament, and undo all the 
grand reputation ye’ve been so many years making ? 
Shoulder the rifle that ye use so well, and off into the 
woods with ye, for there’s not the female breathing that 
is worth a heavy heart for a minute, as I know from ex- 
perience. Tak’ the word of one who knows the sex, and 
has had two wives, that women, after all, are very much 
the sort of creature we do not imagine them to be. Now, 
if you would really mortify Mabel, here is as glorious an 
occasion as any rejected lover could desire.” 

“ The last wish I have, lieutenant, would be to mortify 
Mabel.” 

“Well, ye’ll come to that in the end, notwithstanding; 
for it’s human nature to desire to give unpleasant feelings 
to them that gave unpleasant feelings to us. But a better 
occasion never offered, to make your friends love you 
than is to be had at this very moment, and that is the 
certain means of causing one’s enemies to envy us.” 

“Quartermaster, Mabel is not my inimy; and if she 
was, the last thing I could desire would be to give her an 
uneasy moment.” 

“Ye say so, Pathfinder — ye say so, and I dare say ye 
think so; but reason and nature are both against you, as 
ye’ll find in the end. Ye’ve heard the saying of Tove 
me, love my dog; ’ well, now that means, read backward, 
‘don’t love me, don’t love my dog.’ Now, listen to what 
is in your power to do. You know we occupy an ex- 
ceedingly precarious and uncertain position here, almost 
in the jaws of the lion as it were ? ” 

“ Do you mean the Frenchers, by the lion, and this island 
as his jaws, lieutenant ?” 

“ Metaphorically only, my friend, for the French are no 
lions, and this island is no jaw — unless, indeed it may 
prove to be, what I greatly fear may come true, the jaw- 
bone of an ass! ” 

Here the quartermaster indulged in a sneering laugh 
that proclaimed anything but respect and admiration for 
his friend Lundie’s sagacity in selecting that particular 
spot for his operations. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


301 


“ That post is as well chosen as any I ever put foot in,” 
said Pathfinder, looking around him as one surveys a pic- 
ture. 

“I’ll no deny it — I’ll no deny it. Lundie is a great 
soldier in a small way; and his father was a great laird, 
with the same qualification. I was born on the estate, 
and have followed the major so long, that I’ve got to 
reverence all he says and does. That’s just my weak- 
ness, ye’ll know, Pathfinder. Well, this post may be the 
post of an ass, or of a Solomon, as men fancy; but it’s 
most critically placed, as is apparent by all Lundie’s pre- 
cautions and injunctions. There are savages out scout- 
ing through these thousand islands, and over the forest, 
searching for this very spot, as is known to Lundie him- 
self, on certain information; and the greatest service you 
can render the 55th is to discover their trails, and lead 
them off on a false scent. Unhappily, Sergeant Dunham 
has taken up the notion, that the danger is to be appre- 
hended from up-stream, because Frontenac lies above us; 
whereas, all experience tells us that Indians come on the 
side that is most contrary to reason, and, consequently, 
are to be expected from below. Take your canoe, there- 
fore, and go down stream, among the islands, that we may 
have notice if any danger approaches from that quarter. 
If you should look a few miles on the main, especially on 
the York side, the information you’d bring in would be ail 
the more accurate, and, consequently, the more valuable.” 

“ The Big Sarpent is on the look-out in that quarter, 
and, as he knows the station well, no doubt he will give 
us timely notice, should any wish to sarcumvent us in that 
direction.” 

“ He is but an Indian, after all, Pathfinder, and this is 
an affair that calls for the knowledge of a white man. 
Lundie will be eternally grateful to the man that shall 
help this little enterprise to come off with flying colors. 
To tell you the truth, my friend, he is conscious it should 
never have been attempted; but he has too much of the 
old laird’s obstinacy about him to own an error, though 
it be as manifest as the morning star.” 

The quartermaster then continued to reason with his 
companion, in order to induce him to quit the island with- 
out delay, using such arguments as first suggested them- 


302 


THE PATHFINDER. 


selves, sometimes contradicting himself, and not unfre- 
quently urging, at one moment, a motive that at the next 
was directly opposed by another. The Pathfinder, simple 
as he was, detected these flaws in the lieutenant’s philoso- 
phy, though he was far from suspecting that they pro- 
ceeded from a desire to clear the coast of Mabel’s suitor. 
He met bad reasons by good ones, resisted every induce- 
ment that was not legitimate, by his intimate acquaintance 
with his peculiar duties, and was blind, as usual, to the 
influence of every incentive that could not stand the test 
of integrity. He did not exactly suspect the secret objects 
of Muir, but he was far from being blind to his sophistry. 
The result was that the two parted, after a long dialogue, 
unconvinced and distrustful of each other’s motives, though 
the distrust of the guide, like all that was connected with 
the man, partook of his own upright, disinterested, and 
ingenuous nature. 

A conference that took place soon after, between Ser- 
geant Dunham and the lieutenant, led to more conse- 
quences. When it was ended, secret orders were issued 
to the men, the block-house was taken possession of, the 
huts were occupied, and one accustomed to the move- 
ments of soldiers might have detected that an expedition 
was in the wind. In fact, just as the sun was setting, the 
sergeant, who had been much occupied at what was called 
the Harbor, came into his own hut, followed by Path- 
finder and Cap, and, as he took his seat at the neat table 
that Mabel had prepared for him, he opened the budget 
of his intelligence. 

“You are likely to be of some use here, my child,” the 
old soldier commenced, “ as this tidy and well-ordered 
supper can testify; and I trust, when the proper moment 
arrives, you will show yourself to be the descendant of 
those who know how to face their enemies.” 

“You do not expect me, dear father, to play Joan of 
Arc, and to lead the men to battle ? ” 

“ Play whom, child — did you ever hear of the person 
Mabel mentions, Pathfinder ? ” 

“Not I, sergeant; but what of that? I am ignorant 
and onedicated, and it is too great a pleasure to me to 
listen to her voice, and take in her words, to be particular 
about persons.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


3°S 

“ I know her/' said Cap decidedly; “she sailed a pri- 
vateer out of Morlaix in the last war; and good cruises 
she made of them.” 

Mabel blushed at having inadvertently made an allu- 
sion that went beyond her father’s reading, to say nothing 
of her uncle’s dogmatism; and, perhaps, a little at the 
Pathfinder’s simple ingenuous earnestness; but she did 
not forbear the less to smile. 

“Why, father, I am not expected to fall in with the 
men and to help defend the island ? ” 

“And yet women often have done such things, in this 
quarter of the world, girl, as our friend the Pathfinder,, 
here, will tell you. But, lest you should be surprised at 
not seeing us when you awake in the morning, it is proper 
that I now tell you we intend to march in the course of 
this very night.” 

“ We\ father — and leave me and Jennie on this island 
alone ? ” 

“No, my daughter, not quite as unmilitary as that. 
We shall leave Lieutenant Muir, Brother Cap, Corporal 
McNab, and three men to compose the garrison during 
our absence. Jennie will remain with you in this hut, 
and Brother Cap will occupy my place.” 

“And Mr. Muir?” said Mabel, half unconscious of 
what she uttered, though she foresaw a great deal of un- 
pleasant persecution in the arrangement. 

“ Why, he can make love to you, if you like it, girl ; for 
he is an amorous youth, and, having already disposed of 
four wives, is impatient to show how much he honors their 
memories by taking a fifth.” 

“The quartermaster tells me,” said Pathfinder, inno- 
cently, “that when a man’s feelings have been harrowed 
by so many losses, there is no wiser way to soothe them 
than by ploughing up the soil anew in such a manner as 
to leave no traces of what have gone over it before.” 

“Ay, that is just the difference between ploughing and 
harrowing,” returned the sergeant, with a grim smile. 
“ But let him tell Mabel his mind, and there will be an end 
of his suit. I very well know that my daughter will never 
be the wife of Lieutenant Muir.” 

This was said in a way that was tantamount to declar- 
ing that no daughter of his ever should become the wife 


3°4 


THE PATHFINDER. 


of the person in question. Mabel had colored, trembled, 
half laughed, and looked uneasy; but, rallying her spirit, 
she said in a voice so cheerful as completely to conceal 
her agitation : 

“ But, father, we might better wait until Mr. Muir mani- 
fests a wish that your daughter should have him, or rather 
a wish to have your daughter, lest we get the fable of 
sour grapes thrown into our faces.” 

“And what is that fable, Mabel?” eagerly demanded 
Pathfinder, who was anything but learned in the ordinary 
lore of white men — “tell it to us in your own pretty way; 
I dare say the sergeant never heard it.” 

Mabel repeated the well-known fable, and, as her suitor 
had desired, in her own pretty way, which was a way to 
keep his eyes rivetted on her face, and the whole of his 
honest countenance covered with a smile. 

“That was like a fox! ” cried Pathfinder, when she had 
ceased, “ay, and like a Mingo, too, cunning and cruel; 
that is the way with both the riptyles. As to grapes, they 
are sour enough in this part of the country, even to them 
that can get at them, though I dare say there are seasons, 
and times, and places, where they are sourer to them that 
can’t. I should judge, now, my scalp is very sour in 
Mingo eyes.” 

“ The sour grapes will be the other way, child, and it 
is Mr. Muir who will make the complaint. You would 
never marry that man, Mabel ? ” 

“Not she,” put in Cap, “ a fellow who is only half a 
soldier, after all. The story of them there grapes is quite 
a circumstance.” 

“ I think little of marrying any one, dear father, and 
dear uncle, and would rather talk about it less, if you 
please. But did I think of marrying at all, I do believe 
a man whose affections have already been tried by three 
or four wives would scarcely be my choice.” 

The sergeant nodded at the guide, as much as to say, 
you see how the land lies; and then he had sufficient con- 
sideration for his a ughter’s feelings to change the sub- 
ject. 

“Neither you nor Mabel, brother Cap,” he resumed, 
“ can have any legal authority with the garrison I leave 
behind on the land; but you may counsel and influence. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


305 

Strictly speaking, Corporal McNab will be the command- 
ing officer, and I have endeavored to impress him with a 
sense of his dignity, lest he might give way too much to 
the superior rank of Lieutenant Muir, who, being a vol- 
unteer, can have no right to interfere with the duty. I 
wish you to sustain the corporal, Brother Cap, for should 
the quartermaster once break through the regulations of 
the expedition, he may pretend to command me as well as 
McNab.” 

“ More particularly should Mabel really cut him adrift 
while you are absent. Of course, sergeant, you’ll leave 
everything that is afloat under my care ? The most d — le 
confusion has grown out of misunderstandings between 
commanders-in-chief ashore and afloat.” 

“ In one sense, brother, though in a general way, the 
corporal is commander-in-chief. History does, indeed, 
tell us that a division of command leads to difficulties, 
and I shall avoid that danger. The corporal must com- 
mand, but you can counsel freely, particularly in all 
matters relating to the boats, of which I shall leave one 
behind, to secure your retreat should there be occasion. 
I know the corporal well ; he is a brave man, and a good 
soldier; and one that may be relied on, if the Santa Cruz 
can be kept from him. But then he is a Scotchman, and 
will be liable to the quartermaster's influence, against 
which I desire both you and Mabel to be on your guard.” 

“But why leave us behind, dear father! I have come 
thus far to be a comfort to you, and why not go farther ? ” 

“You are a good girl, Mabel, and very like the Dun- 
hams! But you must halt here. We shall leave the island 
to-morrow before the day dawns, in order not to be seen 
by any prying eyes coming from our cover, and we shall 
take the two largest boats, leaving you the other and one 
bark canoe. We are about to go into the channel used 
by the French, where we shall lie in wait, perhaps a week, 
to intercept their supply-boats that are about to pass up, 
on their way to Frontenac, loaded in particular with a 
heavy amount of Indian goods.” 

“ Have you looked well to your papers, brother ? ” Cap 
anxiously demanded. “ Of course you know a capture on 
the high seas is piracy, unless your boat is regularly com- 
missioned either as a public or a private armed cruiser. ” 


3°b 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ I have the honor to hold the colonel’s appointment as 
sergeant-major of the 55th,” returned the other, drawing 
himself up with dignity, “ and that will be sufficient even 
for the French king. If not, I have Major Duncan’s 
written orders.” 

“No papers them for a warlike cruiser.” 

“ They must suffice, brother, as I have no other. It is 
of vast importance to his majesty’s interests in this part 
of the world that the boats in question should be captured 
and carried into Oswego. They contain the blankets, 
trinkets, rifles, ammunition — in short, all the stores with 
which the French bribe their accursed savage allies to 
commit their unholy acts, setting at naught our holy re- 
ligion and its precepts, the laws of humanity, and all that 
is sacred and dear among men. By cutting off these sup- 
plies we shall derange their plans, and gain time on them; 
for the articles cannot be sent across the ocean again this 
autumn.” 

“ But, father, does not his majesty employ Indians 
also ?” asked Mabel, with some curiosity. 

“ Certainly, girl, and he has a right to employ them — - 
God bless him! It’s a very different thing whether an 
Englishman or a Frenchman employs a savage, as every- 
body can understand.” 

“That is plain enough, brother Dunham; but I do 
not see my way so clear in the matter of the ship’s 
papers. ” 

“ An English colonel’s appointment ought to satisfy any 
Frenchman of my authority; and what is more, brother, 
it shall.” 

“ But I do not see the difference, father, between an 
Englishman and a Frenchman’s employing savages in 
war ? ” 

“All the odds in the world, child, though you may not 
be able to see it. In the first place, an Englishman is 
naturally humane and considerate, while a Frenchman is 
naturally ferocious and timid.” 

“And you may add, brother, that he will dance from 
morning till night, if you’ll let him.” 

“ Very true,” gravely returned the sergeant. 

“But father, I cannot see that all this alters the case. 
If it be wrong in a Frenchman to hire savages to firht his 


THE PATHFINDER. 307 

enemies, it would seem to be equally wrong in an English- 
man. You will admit this, Pathfinder ? ” 

“ It’s reasonable — it’s reasonable, and I have never been 
one of them that has raised a cry ag’in the Frenchers for 
doing the very thing we do ourselves. Still, it is worse 
to consort with a Mingo than to consort with a Delaware. 
If any of that just tribe were left, I should think it no sin 
to send them out ag’in the foe.” 

“ And yet they scalp and slay young and old — women 
and children ! ” 

“ They have their gifts, Mabel, and are not to be blamed 
for following them. Natur’ is natur’, though the differ- 
ent tribes have different ways of showing it. For my part, 
I am white, and endeavor to maintain white feelings.” 

“This is all unintelligible to me,” answered Mabel. 
“What is right in King George, it would seem, ought to 
be right in King Louis.” 

“The king of France’s real name is Caput,” observed 
Cap, with his mouth full of venison. “ I once carried a 
great scholar as a passenger, and he told me that these 
Lewises thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth, were all hum- 
bugs, and that the men’s real name was Caput, which is 
French for ‘head; ’ meaning that they ought to be put at 
the foot of the ladder, until ready to go up to be hanged.” 

“Well, this does look like being given to scalping, as a 
nat’ral gift,” Pathfinder remarked, with the air of surprise 
with which one receives a novel idea, “ and I shall have 
less compunction than ever in serving ag’in the miscreants, 
though I can’t say I ever yet felt any worth naming.” 

As all parties, Mabel excepted, seemed satisfied with the 
course the discussion had taken, no one appeared to think 
it necessary to pursue the subject. The trio of men, in- 
deed, in this particular, so much resembled the great mass 
of their fellow-creatures, who usually judge of character 
equally without knowledge and without justice, that we 
might not have thought it necessary to record the dis- 
course, had it not some bearing in its facts on the inci- 
dents of the legend, and in its opinions on the motives of 
the characters. 

Supper was no sooner ended than the sergeant dismissed 
his guests, and then held a long and confidential dialogue 
with his daughter. He was little addicted to giving way 


3°8 


THE PATHFINDER. 


to the gentler emotions, but the novelty of his present 
situation awakened feelings that he was unused to experi- 
ence. The soldier, or the sailor, so long as he acts under 
the immediate supervision of a superior, thinks little of 
the risks he runs; but the moment he feel the responsibil- 
ity of command, all the hazards of his undertaking begin 
to associate themselves in his mind with the chances of 
success or failure. While he dwells less on his own per- 
sonal danger, perhaps, than when that is the principal 
consideration, he has more lively general perceptions of 
all the risks, and submits more to the influence of the feel- 
ings which doubt creates. Such was now the case with 
Sergeant Dunham, who, instead of looking forward to vic- 
tory as certain, according to his usual habits, began to 
feel the possibility that he might be parting with his child 
forever. 

Never before had Mabel struck him as so beautiful as 
she appeared that night. Possibly she never had displayed 
so many engaging qualities to her father; for concern on 
his account had begun to be active in her breast, and then 
her sympathies met with unusual encouragement through 
those which had been stirred up in the sterner bosom of 
the veteran. She had never been entirely at her ease with 
her parent, the great superiority of her education creating 
a sort of chasm, which had been widened by the military 
severity of manner he had acquired by dealing so long 
and intimately with beings who could only be kept in 
subjection by an unremitted discipline. On the present 
occasion, however, or after they were left alone, the con- 
versation between the father and daughter became more 
confidential than usual, until Mabel rejoiced to find that 
it was gradually becoming endearing — a state of feeling 
that the warm-hearted girl had silently pined for in vain 
ever since her arrival. 

“ Then mother was about my height ? ” Mabel said, as 
she held one of her father’s hands in both her own, look- 
ing up into his face with humid eyes. “ I had thought 
her taller.” 

“ This is the way with most children, who get a habit 
of thinking of their parents with respect, until they fancy 
them larger and more commanding than they actually 
are. Your mother, Mabel, was as near your height as 
one woman could be to another.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


309 


“And her eyes, father ? ” 

“ Her eyes were like thine, child, too — blue and soft, 
and inviting like; though hardly so laughing.” 

“ Mine will never laugh again, dearest father, if you do 
not take care of yourself in this expedition.” 

“ Thank you, Mabel — hem — thank you, child ; but I 
must do my duty. I wish I had seen you comfortably 
married before we left Oswego! — my mind would be 
easier.” 

“ Married ! — to whom, father ? ” 

“ You know the man I wish you to love. You may meet 
with many gayer, and many dressed in finer clothes; but 
with none with so true a heart and just a mind.” 

“ None, father ? ” 

“I know of none; in these particulars Pathfinder has 
few equals, at least.” 

“But I need not marry at all. You are single, and I 
can remain to take care of you.” 

“God bless you, Mabel! I know you would, and I do 
not say that the feeling is not right, for I suppose it is; 
and yet I believe there is another that is more so.” 

“ What can be more right than to honor one’s parents ? ” 

“It is just as right to honor one’s husband, my dear 
child.” 

“ But I have no husband, father.” 

“ Then take one as soon as possible, that you may have 
a husband to honor. I cannot live forever, Mabel, but 
must drop off in the course of nature ere long, if I am 
not carried off in the course of war. You are young, and 
may yet live long; and it is proper that you should have 
a male protector, who can see you safe through life, and 
take care of you in age as you now wish to take care 
of me.” 

“And do you think, father,” said Mabel, playing with 
his sinewy fingers with her own little hands, and looking 
down at them as if they were subjects of intense interest, 
though her lips curled in a slight smile as the words came 
from them — “ and do you think, father, that Pathfinder is 
just the man to do this ? Is he not within ten or twelve 
years as old as yourself ? ” 

“What of that? His life has been one of moderation 
and exercise, and years are less to be counted, girl, than 


210 


THE PATHFINDER, 


constitution. Do you know another more likely to be 
your protector ? ” 

Mabel did not; at least another who had expressed a 
desire to that effect, whatever might have been her hopes 
and her wishes. 

“ Nay, father, we are not talking of another, but of the 
Pathfinder, ” she answered, evasively. “ If he were younger, 
I think it would be more natural for me to think of him 
for a husband.” 

“ ’Tis all in the constitution, I tell you, child. Path- 
finder is a younger man than half our subalterns.” 

“ He is certainly younger than one, sir — Lieutenant 
Muir.” 

Mabel’s laugh was joyous and light-hearted, as if just 
then she felt no care. 

“ That he is — young enough to be his grandson — he is 
younger in years, too. God forbid, Mabel! that you 
should ever become an officer’s lady, at least until you are 
an officer’s daughter.” 

“ There will be little fear of that, father, if I marry 
Pathfinder!” returned the girl, looking up archly in the 
sergeant’s face again. 

“ Not by the king’s commission, perhaps, though the 
man is even now the friend and companion of generals. 
I think I could die happy, Mabel, if you were his wife.” 

“ Father! ” 

“ ’Tis a sad thing to go into battle with the weight of 
an unprotected daughter laid upon the heart.” 

“ I would give the world to lighten yours of its load, my 
dear sir! ” 

“It might be done,” said the sergeant, looking fondly 
at his child, “though I could not wish to put a burden on 
yours in order to do so.” 

The voice was deep and tremulous, and never before 
had Mabel witnessed such a show of affection in her 
parent. The habitual sternness of the man lent an inter- 
est to his emotions that they might otherwise have wanted, 
and the daughter’s heart yearned to relieve the father’s 
mind. 

“ Father, speak plainly,” she cried, almost convulsively. 

“Nay, Mabel, it might not be right — your wishes and 
mine may be very different.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 311 

“ I nave no wishes — know nothing of what you mean — 
would you speak of my future marriage ? ” 

“ If I could see you promised to Pathfinder — know that 
you were pledged to become his wife, let my own fate be 
what it might, I think I could die happy. But I will ask 
no pledge of you, my child — I will not force you to do 
what you might repent. Kiss me, Mabel, and go to your 
bed.” 

Had Sergeant Dunham exacted of Mabel the pledge 
that he really so much desired, he would have encountered 
a resistance that he might have found difficult to over- 
come; but by letting nature have its course, he enlisted a 
powerful ally on his side, and the warm-hearted, generous- 
minded Mabel was ready to concede to her affections 
much more than she would ever have yielded to menace. 
At that touching moment she thought only of her parent, 
who was about to quit her, perhaps forever; and all of 
that ardent love for him which had possibly been as much 
fed by the imagination as by anything else, but which had 
received a little check by the restrained intercourse of the 
last fortnight, now returned with a force that was in- 
creased by pure and intense feeling. Her father seemed 
all in all to her; and, to render him happy, there was no 
proper sacrifice that she was not ready to make. One 
painful, rapid, almost wild gleam of thought shot across 
the brain of the girl, and her resolution wavered; but, 
endeavoring to trace the foundation of the pleasing hope 
on which it was based, she found nothing positive to sup- 
port it. Trained like a woman to subdue her most ardent 
feelings, 'her thoughts reverted to her father, and to the 
blessings that awaited the child who yielded to a parent’s 
wishes. 

“Father,” she said quietly, almost with a holy calm, 
“ God blesses the dutiful daughter! ” 

“ He will, Mabel; we have the good book for that.” 

“ I will marry whomsoever you desire.” 

“Nay — nay, Mabel — you may have a choice of your 
own ” 

“ I have no choice — that is, none have asked me to have 
a choice but Pathfinder and Mr. Muir; and, between them 
neither of us would hesitate. No, father; I will marry 
whomsoever you may choose.” 


312 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Thou knowest my choice, beloved girl ; none other 
jean make thee as happy as the noble-hearted guide.” 

“Well, then, if he wish it — if he ask me again — for 
father, you would not have me offer myself, or that any 
one should do that office for me ” — and the blood stole 
across the pallid cheeks of Mabel as she spoke, for high 
and generous resolution had driven back the stream of 
life to her heart — “ no one must speak to him of it; but if 
he seeks me again, and, knowing all that a true girl ought 
to tell the man she marries, and he then wishes to make 
me his wife, I will be his.” 

“ Bless you, my Mabel — God in Heaven bless you, and 
reward you as a pious daughter deserves to be rewarded! ” 

“Yes, father — put your mind at peace — go on this ex- 
pedition with a light heart, and trust in God. For me you 
will have now no care. In the spring — I must have a 
little time, father — but, in the spring, I will marry Path- 
finder, if that noble-hearted hunter shall then desire it.” 

“ Mabel, he loves you as I loved your mother. I have 
seen him weep like a child when speaking of his feelings 
toward you.” 

“Yes, I believe it — I’ve seen enough to satisfy me that 
he thinks better of me than I deserve; and certainly the 
man is not living for whom I have more respect than for 
Pathfinder; not even for you, dear father.” 

“ That is as it should be, child, and the union will be 
blessed. May I not tell Pathfinder this ? ” 

“ I would rather you would not, father. Let it come of 
itself — come naturally — the man should seek the woman 
and not the woman the man ” The smile that illu- 

minated Mabel’s handsome face was angelic, as even her 
parent thought, though one better practised in detecting 
the passing emotions, as they betray themselves in the 
countenance, might have traced something wild and un- 
natural in it. “ No — no — we must let things take their 
course; father, you have my solemn promise.” 

“ That will do — that will do, Mabel ; now kiss me — God 
bless and protect you, girl — you are a good daughter! ” 

Mabel threw herself into her father’s arms — it was the 
first time in her life — and sobbed on his bosom like an in- 
fant. The stern old soldier’s heart was melted, and the 
tears ^ the two mingled; but Sergeant Dunham soon 


THE PATHFINDER. 


3 J 3 


started as if ashamed of himself, and gently forcing his 
daughter from him, he bade her good-night, and sought 
his pallet. Mabel went sobbing to the rude corner that 
had been prepared for her reception, and in a few minutes 
the hut was undisturbed by any sound, save the heavy 
breathing of the veteran. 


CHAPTER XX. 

“ Wandering, I found on my ruinous walk, 

By the dial stone, aged and green, 

One rose of the wilderness left on its stalk, 

To mark where a garden had been.” — Campbell. 

It was not only broad daylight when Mabel awoke, but 
the sun had actually been up some time. Her sleep had 
been tranquil, for she rested on an approving conscience, 
and fatigue contributed to render it sweet, and no sound 
of those who had been so early in motion had interfered 
with her rest. Springing to her feet, and rapidly dressing 
herself, the girl was soon breathing the fragrance of the 
morning in the open air. For the first time she was sensi- 
bly struck with the singular beauties as well as with the 
profound retirement of her present situation. The day 
proved to be one of those of the autumnal glory so com- 
mon to a climate that is more abused than appreciated, 
and its influence was in every way inspiriting and genial. 
Mabel was benefited by this circumstance, for, as she 
fancied, her heart was heavy on account of the dangers 
to which a father, whom she now began to love as women 
love when confidence is created, was about to be exposed. 

But the island seemed absolutely deserted. The pre- 
vious night, the bustle of the arrival had given the spot 
an appearance of life that was now entirely gone; and our 
heroine had turned her eyes nearly around on every object 
in sight, before she caught a view of a single human being 
to remove the sense of utter solitude. Then, indeed, she 
beheld all who were left behind, collected in a group 
around a fire which might be said to belong to the camp. 
The person of her uncle, to whom she was so much accus- 


3i4 


THE PATHFINDER. 


tomed, reassured the girl, and she examined the remainder 
with a curiosity natural to her situation. Besides Cap 
and the quartermaster, there were the corporal, the three 
soldiers, and the woman who was cooking. The huts, were 
silent and empty, and the low but tower-like summit of 
the block-house rose above the bushes, by which it was 
half-concealed, in picturesque beauty. The sun was just 
casting its brightness into the open places of the glade, 
and the vault over her head was impending in the soft 
sublimity of the blue void. Not a cloud was visible, and 
she secretly fancied the circumstance might be taken as 
a harbinger of peace and security. 

Perceiving that all the others were occupied with that 
great concern of human nature, a breakfast, Mabel walked 
unobserved toward an end of the island, where she was 
completely shut out of view by the trees and bushes. Here 
she got a stand on the very edge of the water, by forcing 
aside the low branches, and stood watching the barely 
perceptible flow and reflow of the miniature waves that 
laved the shore; a sort of physical echo to the agitation 
that prevailed on the lake fifty miles above her. The 
glimpses of natural scenery that offered were very soft 
and pleasing; and our heroine, who had a quick and true 
eye for all that was lovely in nature, was not slow in se- 
lecting the most striking bits of landscape. She gazed 
.through the different vistas formed by the openings be- 
tween the islands, and thought she had never looked on 
aught more lovely. 

While thus occupied, Mabel was suddenly alarmed by 
fancying that she caught a glimpse of a human form, 
among the bushes that lined the shore of the island that 
lay directly before her. The distance across the water 
was not a hundred yards; and though she might be mis- 
taken, and her fancy was wandering when the form passed 
before her sight, still she did not think she could be de- 
ceived. Aware that her sex would be no protection against 
a rifle-bullet, should an Iroquois get a view of her, the 
girl instinctively drew back, taking care to conceal her 
person as much as possible by the leaves, while she kept 
her own look riveted on the opposite shore, vainly waiting 
for some time in the expectation of the stranger. She 
was about to quit her post in the bushes, and hasten to 


THE PATHFINDER. 


3*5 


her uncle in order to acquaint him of her suspicions, when 
she saw the branch of an alder thrust beyond the bushes, 
on the other island, and waved toward her significantly, 
and, as she fancied, in token of amity. This was a breath- 
less and trying moment to one as inexperienced in frontier 
warfare as our heroine, and yet she felt the great neces- 
sity that existed for preserving her recollection, and of 
acting with steadiness and discretion. 

It was one of the peculiarities of the exposure to which 
those who dwelt on the frontiers of America were liable, 
to bring out the moral qualities of the women to a degree 
that they must themselves, under other circumstances, 
have believed they were incapable of manifesting; and 
Mabel well knew that the borderers loved to dwell, in 
their legends, on the presence of mind, fortitude, and spirit 
that their wives and sisters had displayed under circum- 
stances the most trying. Her emulation had been awak- 
ened by what she had heard on such subjects; and it at 
once struck her that now was the moment for her to show 
that she was truly Sergeant Dunham’s child. The motion 
of the branch was such as, she believed, indicated amity; 
and, after a moment’s hesitation, she broke off a twig, 
fastened it to a stick, and, thrusting it through an open- 
ing, waved it in return, imitating, as closely as possible, 
the manner of the other. 

This dumb show lasted two or three minutes on both 
sides, when Mabel perceived that the bushes opposite were 
cautiously pushed aside, and a human face appeared at 
an opening. A glance sufficed to let Mabel see that it 
was the countenance of a red-skin, as well as that of a 
woman. A second and a better look satisfied her that it 
was the face of the Dew-of-June, the wife of Arrowhead. 
During the time she had travelled in company with this 
woman, Mabel had been won by the gentleness of man- 
ner, the meek simplicity, and the mingled awe and affec- 
tion with which she regarded her husband. Once or twice, 
in the course of the journey, she fancied the Tuscarora 
had manifested toward herself an unpleasant degree of 
attention; and on those occasions it had struck her that 
his wife exhibited sorrow and mortification As Mabel, 
however, had more than compensated by any pain she 
might, in this way, unintentionally have caused her com- 


3 l6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


paniou, by her own kindness of manner and attentions, 
the woman had shown much attachment to her, and they 
had parted with a deep conviction on the mind of our 
heroine that in the Dew-of-June she had lost a friend. 

It is useless to attempt to analyze all the ways by which 
the human heart is led into confidence. Such a feeling, 
however, had the young Tuscarora woman awakened in 
the breast of our heroine; and the latter, under the im- 
pression that this extraordinary visit was intended for her 
own good, felt every disposition to have a closer com- 
munication. She no longer hesitated about showing her- 
self clear of the bushes, and was not sorry to see the 
Dew-of-June imitate her confidence by stepping fearlessly 
out of her own cover. The two girls, for the Tuscarora, 
though married, was even younger than Mabel, now 
openly exchanged signs of friendship, and the latter beck- 
oned to her friend to approach, though she knew not the 
manner herself in which this could be effected. But the 
Dew-of-June was not slow in letting it be seen that it was 
in her power; for disappearing a moment, she soon showed 
herself again in the end of a bark canoe, the bow of which 
she had drawn to the edge of the bushes, and of which 
the body still lay in a sort of covered creek. Mabel was 
about to invite her to cross, when her own name was 
called aloud in the stentorian voice of her uncle. Mak- 
ing a hurried gesture for the Tuscarora girl to conceal 
herself, Mabel sprang from the bushes and tripped up the 
glade toward the sound, and perceived that the whole 
party had just seated themselves at breakfast; Cap having 
barely put his appetite under sufficient restraint to summon 
her to join them. That this was the most favorable in- 
stant for the interview flashed on the mind of Mabel ; and, 
excusing herself on the plea of not being prepared for the 
meal, she bounded back to the thicket, and soon renewed 
her communications with the young Indian woman. 

Dew-of-June was quick of comprehension; and, with 
half a dozen noiseless strokes of the paddle, her canoe 
was concealed in the bushes of Station Island. In an- 
other minute Mabel held her hand, and was leading her 
through the grove toward her own hut. Fortunately, the 
latter was so placed as to be completely hidden from the 
-sight of those at the fire, and they both entered it unseen. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


317 


Hastily explaining to her guest, in the best manner she 
could, the necessity of quitting her for a short time, 
Mabel, first placing the Dew-of-June in her own room 
with the full certainty that she would not quit it until told 
to do so, went to the fire, and took her seat among the rest 
with all the composure it was in her power to command. 

“Late come, late served, Mabel,” said her uncle, be- 
tween two mouthfuls of broiled salmon, for, though the 
cookery might be very unsophisticated on that remote 
frontier, the viands were generally delicious; “ late come, 
late served ; it is a good rule, and keeps laggards up to 
their work.” 

“ I am no laggard, uncle, for I have been stirring near 
an hour, and exploring our island.” 

“ It’s little you’ll make o’ that, Mistress Mabel,” put 
in Muir, “ that’s little by nature. Lundie, or it might be 
better to style him Major Duncan in this presence” — this 
was said in consideration of the corporal and the common 
men, though they were taking their meal a little apart — 
“ it might be better to style him Major Duncan in this 
presence, has not added an empire to his majesty’s domin- 
ions in getting possession of this island, which is likely to 
equal that of the celebrated Sancho in revenues and profits 
— Sancho, of whom, doubtless, Master Cap, you’ll often 
have been reading in your leisure hours, more especially 
in calms and moments of inactivity.” 

“ I know the spot you mean, quartermaster; Sancho’s 
Island — coral rock, of new formation, and as bad a land- 
fall, in a dark night and blowing weather, as a sinner 
could wish to keep clear of. It’s a famous place for 
cocoa-nuts and bitter water, that Sancho’s Island! ” 

“It’s no very famous for dinners,” returned Muir, re- 
pressing the smile that was struggling to his lips, out of 
respect to Mabel, “nor do I think there’ll be much to 
choose between its revenge and that of this spot. In my 
judgment, Master Cap, this is a very unmilitary position, 
and I look to some calamity’s befalling it sooner or later.” 

“ It is to be hoped not until our turn of duty is over,” 
observed Mabel. “I have no wish to study the French 
language.” 

“We might think ourselves happy did it not prove to 
be the Iroquois. I have reasoned with Major Duncan on 


3 lS 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the occupation of this position, but ‘a wilfu’ man maun 
ha* his way. * My first object, in accompanying this party, 
was to endeavor to make myself acceptable and useful to 
your beautiful niece, Master Cap; and the second was to 
take such an account of the stores that belong to my par- 
ticular department, as shall leave no question open to 
controversy concerning the manner of expenditure, when 
they shall have disappeared by means of the enemy.” 

“ Do you look upon matters as so serious ? ” demanded 
Cap, actually suspending his mastication of a bit of veni- 
son, for he passed alternately, like a modern elegant , 
from fish to flesh and again, in the interest he took in 
the answer. “ Is the danger pressing ? ” 

“ I’ll no say just that; and I’ll no say just the contrary. 
There is always danger in war, and there is more of it at 
the advanced posts than at the main encampment. It 
ought, therefore, to occasion no surprise were we to be 
visited by the French at any moment.” 

“ And what the devil is to be done in that case ? Six 
men and two women would make but a poor job in de- 
fending such a place as this, should the enemy invade us, 
as no doubt, Frenchman-like, they would take very good 
care to come strong-handed.” 

“ That we may depend on. Some very formidable 
force, at the very lowest. A military disposition might 
be made, in defence of the island, out of all question, 
and according to the art of war, though we would probably 
fail in the force necessary to carry out the design in any 
very creditable manner. In the first place, a detachment 
should be sent off to the shore with orders to annoy the 
enemy in landing. A strong party ought instantly to be 
thrown into the block-house, as the citadel, for on that 
all the different detachments would naturally fall back 
for support, as the French advanced; and an entrenched 
camp might be laid out around the stronghold, as it would 
be very unmilitary, indeed, to let the foe get near enough 
to the foot of the walls to mine them. Chevaux-de-frise 
would keep the cavalry in check, and, as for the artillery, 
redoubts should be thrown up under cover of yon woods. 
Strong skirmishing parties, moreover, would be exceed- 
ingly serviceable in retarding the march of the enemy;, 
and these different huts, if properly picketed and ditched. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


319 


would oe converted into very eligible positions for that 
object. ” 

“Whe-e-w! Quartermaster! And who the d — 1 is to 
find all the men to carry out such a plan ? ” 

“ The king, out of all question, Master Cap. It is his 
quarrel, and it’s just he should bear the burden o’ it.” 

“ And we are only six! This is fine talking, with a ven- 
geance. You could be sent down to the shore to oppose 
the landing, Mabel might skirmish with her tongue at 
least, the soldier’s wife might act chevaux-de-frise to 
entangle the cavalry, the corporal should command the 
entrenched camp, his three men could occupy the five 
huts, and I would take the block-house. Whe-e-w! you 
describe well, lieutenant, and you should have been a 
limner instead of a soldier! ” 

“ Na — I’ve been very literal and upright in my exposi- 
tion of matters. That there is no greater force here to 
carry out the plan, is a fault of his majesty’s ministers, 
and none of mine.” 

“But should our enemy really appear,” asked Mabel, 
with more interest than she might have shown had she 
not remembered the guest in the hut, “ what course ought 
we to pursue ? ” 

“ My advice would be to attempt to achieve that, pretty 
Mabel, which rendered Xenophon so justly celebrated.” 

“ I think you mean a retreat, though I half guess at 
your allusion.” 

“ You’ve imagined my meaning from the pessession of 
a strong native sense, young lady. I am aware that your 
worthy father has pointed out to the corporal certain 
modes and methods by which he fancies this island could 
be held, in case the French should discover its position; 
but the excellent sergeant, though your father, and as 
good a man in his duties as ever wielded a spontoon, is 
not the great Lord Stair, or even the Duke of Marlbor- 
ough. I’ll no deny the sergeant’s merits in his particular 
sphere, though I cannot exaggerate qualities, however 
excellent, into those of men who may be, in some trifling 
degree, his superior. Sergeant Dunham has taken counsel 
of his heart, instead of his head, in resolving to issue such 
orders; but, if the fort fall, the blame will lie on him who 
ordered it to be occupied, and not on him whose duty it 


320 


THE PATHFINDER. 


was to defend it. Whatever may be the determination of 
the latter, should the French and their allies land, a good 
commander never neglects the preparations necessary to 
effect a retreat; and I would advise Master Cap, who is 
the admiral of our navy, to have a boat in readiness to 
evacuate the island, if need comes to need. The largest 
boat that we have left carries a very ample sail, and, by 
hauling it round here and mooring it under those bushes, 
there will be a convenient place for a hurried embarka- 
tion, and then you’ll perceive, pretty Mabel, that it is 
scarce fifty yards before we shall be in a channel between 
two other islands, and hid from the sight of those who 
may happen to be on this.” 

“ All that you say is very true, Mr. Muir; but may not 
the French come from that quarter themselves ? If it is 
so good for retreat, it is equally good for an advance.” 

“ They’ll no have the sense to do so discreet a thing,” 
returned Muir, looking furtively and a little uneasily 
around him; ‘‘they’ll no have sufficient discretion. Your 
French are a head-over-heels nation, and usually come 
forward in a random way; so we may look for them, if 
they come at all, on the other side of the island.” 

The discourse now became exceeding desultory, touch* 
ing principally, however, on the probabilities of an inva- 
sion and the best means of meeting it. 

To most of this Mabel paid but little attention, though 
she felt some surprise that Lieutenant Muir, an officer 
whose character for courage stood well, should openly 
recommend an abandonment of what appeared to her to 
be doubly a duty, her father’s character being connected 
with the defence of the island. Her mind, however, was 
so much occupied with her guest that, seizing the first fav- 
orable moment, she left the table and was soon in her own 
hut again Carefully fastening the door, and seeing that 
the simple curtain was drawn before the singlelittle window, 
Mabel next led the Dew-of-June, or June, as she was famil- 
iarly termed by those who spoke to her in English, into 
the outer room, making signs of affection and confidence. 

“I am glad to see you, June,” said Mabel, with one of 
her sweetest smiles, and in her own winning voice: “very 
glad to see you — what has brought you hither, and how 
did you discover the island ? ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


32 - 


“Talk slow,” said June, returning smile for smile, and 
pressing the little hand she held with one of her own, that 
was scarcely larger, though it had been hardened by labor, 
“more slow — too quick.” 

Mabel repeated her questions, endeavoring to repress 
the impetuosity of her feelings, and she succeeded in 
speaking so distinctly as to be understood. 

“June, friend,” returned the Indian woman. 

“I believe you, June — from my soul I believe you; 
what has this to do with your visit ? ” 

“Friend come to see friend,” answered June, again 
smiling openly in the other’s face. 

“There is some other reason, June; else would you 
never run this risk, and alone — you are alone, June ? ” 

“ June wid you — no one else. June come along, paddle 
canoe. ” 

“ I hope so — I think so — nay, I know so. You would 
not be treacherous with me, June ? ” 

“ What treacherous ? ” 

“You would not betray me — would not give me to the 
French — to the Iroquois — to Arrowhead” — June shook 
her head earnestly — “ you would not sell my scalp ? ” 

Here June passed her arm fondly around the slender 
waist of Mabel, and pressed her to her heart with a ten- 
derness and affection that brought tears into the eyes of 
our heroine. It was done in the fond, caressing manner 
of a woman, and it was scarcely possible that it should 
not obtain credit for sincerity with a young and ingenuous 
person of the same sex. Mabel returned the pressure, and 
then held the other off at the length of her arm, looking 
her steadly in the face, and continued her inquiries. 

“ If June has something to tell her friend, let her speak 
plainly,” she said. “ My ears are open.” 

“June ’fraid Arrowhead kill her.” 

“ But Arrowhead will never know it.” Mabel’s blood 
mounted to her temples, as she said this; for she felt that 
she was urging a wife to be treacherous to her husband. 
“That is, Mabel will not tell him.” 

“He bury tomahawk in June’s head.” 

“That must never be, dear June; I would rather you 
should say no more, than run this risk.” 

“ Block-house good place to sleep — good place to stay/' 


322 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Do you mean that I may save my life by keeping in 
the block-house, June? Surely, surely, Arrowhead will 
not hurt you for telling me that. He cannot wish me any 
great harm, for I never injured him.” 

“ Arrowhead wish no harm to handsome pale-face,” re- 
turned June, averting her face, and, though she always 
spoke in the soft, gentle voice of an Indian girl, permitting 
its notes to fall so low as to cause them to sound melan- 
choly and timid — “ Arrowhead love pale-face girl.” 

Mabel blushed, she knew not why, and, for a moment, 
her questions were repressed by a feeling of inherent deli- 
cacy. But it was necessary to know more, for her appre- 
hensions had been keenly awakened, and she resumed her 
inquiries. 

“Arrowhead can have no reason to love or to hate me” 
she said. “ Is he near you ? ” 

“Husband always near wife, here,” said June, laying 
her hand on her heart. 

“Excellent creature! But, tell me June, ought I to 
keep in the block-house to-day — this morning — now ? ” 

“ Block-house very good ; good for squaw. Block-house 
got no scalp.” 

“ I fear I understand you only too well, June. Do you 
wish to see my father?” 

:< No here; gone away.” 

“You cannot know that, June; you see the island is 
full of his soldiers.” 

“No full; gone away” — here June held up four of her 
lingers — “ so many red-coats. ” 

“ And Pathfinder — would you not like to see the Path- 
finder ? — he can talk with you in the Iroquois tongue, 

“Tongue gone wid him,” said June, laughing; “keep 
tongue in his mout\” 

There was something so sweet and contagious in the 
infantile laugh of an Indian girl, that Mabel could not re- 
frain from joining in it, much as her fears were aroused 
by all that had passed. 

“You appear to know, or to think to know, all about 
us, June. But, if Pathfinder be gone, Eau-douce can 
speak French, too. You know Eau-douce; shall I run 
and bring him to talk with you ? ” 

“Eau-douce gone, too, all but heart; that there,” As 


THE PATHFINDER. 


323 


June said this she laughed again, looked in different di- 
rections, as if unwilling to confuse the other, and laid her 
hand on Mabel’s bosom. 

Our heroine had often heard of the wonderful sagacity 
of the Indians, and of the surprising manner in which they 
noted all things while they appeared to regard none, but 
she was scarce prepared for the direction the discourse had 
so singularly taken. Willing to change it, and at the same 
time truly anxious to learn how great the danger that im- 
pended over them might really be, she rose from the camp- 
stool on which she had been seated, and, by assuming an 
attitude of less affectionate confidence, she hoped to hear 
more of that she really desired to learn, and to avoid allu- 
sions to that which she found so embarrassing. 

“You know how much or how little you ought to tell 
me, June,” she said, “ and I hope you love me well enough 
to give me the information I ought to hear. My dear 
uncle, too, is on the island, and you are, or ought to be, 
his friend as well as mine; and both of us will remember 
your conduct when we get back to Oswego.” 

“ Maybe never get back — who knows ? ” This was said 
doubtingly, or as one lays down an uncertain proposition, 
and not with a taunt or desire to alarm. 

“ No one knows what will happen but God. Our lives 
are in his hands. Still I think you are to be his instru- 
ment in saving us.” 

This passed June’s comprehension, and she only looked 
her ignorance, for it was evident she wished to be of 
use. 

“Block-house very good,” she repeated, as soon as her 
countenance ceased to express uncertainty, laying strong 
emphasis on the last two words. 

“Well, I understand this, June, and will sleep in it to- 
night. Of course I am to tell my uncle what you have 
said.” 

The Dew-of-June started, and she discovered a very 
manifest uneasiness at the interrogatory. 

“No — no — no!” she answered, with a volubility and 
vehemence that was imitated from the French of the Can- 
adas — “ no good to tell Salt-water. He much talk and 
long tongue. Think woods al) water • understand not’ ing. 
Tell Arrowhead, and June die. 


3 2 4 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“You do my dear uncle ‘injustice, for he would be as 
little likely to betray you as any one.” 

“No understand. Salt-water got tongue, but no eye, 
no ear, no nose — not’ing but tongue, tongue, tongue.” 

Although Mabel did not exactly coincide in this opinion, 
she saw that Cap had not the confidence of the young 
Indian woman, and that it was idle to expect she would 
consent to his being admitted to their interview. 

“You appear to think you know our situation pretty 
well, June,” Mabel continued. “Have you been on the 
island before this visit ? ” 

“ Just come.” 

“ How, then, do you know that what you say is true ? 
My father, the Pathfinder, and Eau-douce may be all here 
within the sound of my voice, if I choose to call them.” 

“All gone,” said June, positively, smiling good-hum- 
oredly at the same time. 

“ Nay, this is more than you can say certainly, not hav- 
ing been over the island to examine it.” 

“ Got good eyes; see boat with men go away — see ship 
with Eau-douce.” 

“ Then you have been some time watching us. I think, 
however, you have not counted them that remain.” 

June laughed, held up her four fingers again, and then 
pointed to her two thumbs; passing a finger over the first, 
she repeated the words “ red-coat,” and, touching the last, 
she added: “Salt-water,” “Quartermaster.” All this 
was being very accurate, and Mabel began to entertain 
serious doubts of the propriety of her permitting her vis- 
itor to depart without her becoming more explicit. Still 
it was so repugnant to her feelings to abuse the confidence 
this gentle and affectionate creature had evidently reposed 
in her, that Mabel had no sooner admitted the thought of 
summoning her uncle than she rejected it, as unworthy of 
herself, and unjust to her friend. To aid this good reso- 
lution, too, there was the certainty that June would reveal 
nothing, but take refuge in a stubborn silence, if any at- 
tempt was made to coerce her. 

“You think, then, June,” Mabel continued, as soon as 
these thoughts had passed through her mind, “ that I had 
better live in the block-house ? ” 

“ Good place for squaw. Block-house got no scalp. 
Logs t’ick.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


325 

“You speak confidently, June, as if you had been in it, 
and had measured its walls.” 

June laughed, and she looked knowing, though she said 
nothing. 

“ Does any one but yourself know how to find this island 
— have any of the Iroquois seen it ? ” 

June looked sad, and she cast her eyes warily about her 
as if distrusting a listener. 

“Tuscarora everywhere — Oswego, here, Frontenac, 
Mohawk — everywhere. If he see June, kill her.” 

“ But. we thought that no one knew of this island, and 
that we had no reason to fear our enemies while on it.” 

“Much eye, Iroquois.” 

“ Eyes will not always do, June. This spot is hid from 
ordinary sight, and few of even our own people know how 
to find it.” 

“One man can tell — some Yengeese talk French.” 

Mabel felt a chill at her heart. All the suspicions 
against Jasper, which she had hitherto disdained enter- 
taining, crowded in a body on her thoughts, and the sensa- 
tion that they brought was so sickening, that for an instant 
she imagined she was about to faint. Arousing herself, 
and remembering her promise to her father, she arose, 
and walked up and down the hut for a minute, fancying 
that Jasper’s delinquencies were naught to her, though 
her inmost heart yearned with the desire to think him in- 
nocent. 

“I understand your meaning, June,” she then said — 
“ you wish me to know that some one has treacherously 
told your people where and how to find the island.” 

June laughed, for in her eyes artifice in war was oftener 
a merit than a crime; but she was too true to her tribe 
herself, to say more than the occasion required. Her 
object was to save Mabel, and Mabel only, and she saw 
no sufficient reason for “travelling out of the record,” as 
the lawyers express it, in order to do anything else. 

“ Pale-face know now,” she added. “ Block-house good 
for girl — no matter for men and warriors.” 

“ But it is much matter with me, June, for one of these 
men is my uncle, whom I love, and the others are my 
countrymen and friends, I must tell them what has 
passed.” 


326 TKE PATHFINDER. 

“ Then June be kill,” returned the young Indian quietly* 
though she spoke with concern. 

“ No — they shall not know that you have been here. 
Still, they must be on their guard, and we can all go into 
the block-nouse.” 

“Arrowhead know — see everything, and June be kill t 
June come to tell young pale-face friend not to tell men. 
Every warrior watch his own scalp. June squaw, and 
tell squaw; no tell men.” 

Mabel was greatly distressed at this declaration of her 
wild friend, for it was now evident the young creature 
understood that her communication was to go no further. 
She was ignorant how far these people considered the 
point of honor interested in her keeping the secret; and, 
most of all, was she unable to say how far any indiscre- 
tion of her own might actually commit June, and endan- 
ger her life. All these considerations flashed on her 
mind, and reflection only rendered their influence more 
painful. June, too, manifestly viewed the matter gravely, 
for she began to gather up the different little articles she 
had dropped in taking Mabel’s hand, and was preparing 
to depart. To attempt detaining her was out of the ques- 
tion, and to part from her, after all she had hazarded to 
serve her, was repugnant to all the just and kind feelings 
of our heroine’s nature. 

“June,” she said, eagerly folding her arms round the 
gentle but uneducated being, “we are friends. From me 
you have nothing to fear, for no one shall know of your 
visit. If you could give me some signal just before the 
danger comes — some sign by which to know when to go 
into the block-house — how to take care of myself.” 

June paused, for she had been in earnest in her intern 
tion to depart; and then she said quietly: 

“ Bring June pigeon.” 

“ A pigeon ! Where shall I find a pigeon to bring you ? ” 

“ Next hut — bring old one — June go to canoe. 

“ I think I understand you, June : but had I not better lead 
you back to the bushes, lest you meet some of the men! ” 

“ Go out first — count men — one — two — t’ree — four — 
five — six” — here June held up her fingers and laughed — 
“all out of way — good — all but one — call him one side. 
Then sing- and fetch pigeon.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


327 


Maoei smiied at the readiness and ingenuity ot girl, 
and prepared to execute her requests. At the door, how- 
ever, she stopped, and looked back entreatingly at the 
Indian woman. 

“ Is there no hope of your telling me more, June ? ” she 
said. 

“ Know all now — block-house good— pigeon tell — Ar- 
rowhead kill.” 

The last words sufficed; for Mabel could not urge fur- 
ther communications, when her companion herself told 
her that the penalty of her revelations might be death by 
the hand of her husband. Throwing open the door, she 
made a sign of adieu to June, and went out of the hut. 
Mabel resorted to the simple expedient of the young In- 
dian girl, to ascertain the situation of the different indi- 
viduals on the island. Instead of looking about her with 
the intention of recognizing faces and dresses, she merely 
counted them; and found that three still remained at the 
fire, while two had gone to the boat, one of whom was 
Mr. Muir. The sixth man was her uncle; and he was 
coolly arranging some fishing tackle, at no great distance 
from the fire. The woman was just entering her own hut: 
and this accounted for the whole party. Mabel now, af- 
fecting to have dropped something, returned nearly to the 
hut she had left, warbling an air, stooped as if to pick up 
some object from the ground, and hurried toward the hut 
June had mentioned. This was a dilapidated structure, 
and it had been converted by the soldiers of the last de- 
tachment into a sort of storehouse for their live stock. 
Among other things it contained a few dozen pigeons, 
which were regaling on a pile of wheat that had been 
brought off from one of the farms plundered on the Canada 
shore. Mabel had not much difficulty in catching one of 
these pigeons, although they fluttered and flew about the 
hut with a noise like that of drums; and, concealing it in 
her dress, she stole back toward her own hut with the 
prize. It was empty ; and, without doing more than cast 
a glance in at the door, the eager girl hurried down to 
the shore. She had no difficulty in escaping observation, 
for the trees and bushes made a complete cover to her 
person. At the canoe she found June, who took the 
pigeon, placed it in a basket of her own manufacturing. 


328 


THE PATHFINDER. 


and repeating the words, “ block-house good,” she glided 
out of the bushes and across the narrow passage as noise- 
lessly as she had come. Mabel waited some time to catch 
a signal of leave-taking or amity, after her friend had 
landed, but none was given. The adjacent islands, with- 
out exception, were as quiet as if no one had ever dis- 
turbed the sublime repose of nature; and nowhere could 
any sign or symptom be discovered, as Mabel then thought, 
that might denote the proximity of the sort of danger of 
which June had given notice. 

On returning, however, from the shore, Mabel was 
struck with a little circumstance, that, in an ordinary sit- 
uation, would have attracted no attention, but which, now 
that her suspicions had been aroused, did not pass before 
her uneasy eye unnoticed. A small piece of red bunting, 
such as is used in the ensigns of ships, was fluttering at 
the lower branch of a small tree, fastened in a way to 
permit it to blow out, or to droop like a vessel’s pennant. 
Now that Mabel’s fears were awakened, June herself 
could not have manifested greater quickness in analyzing 
facts that she believed might affect the safety of the party. 
She s?w at a glance that this bit of cloth could be ob- 
served from an adjacent island; that it lay so near the 
line between her own hut and the canoe, as to leave no 
doubt that June had passed near it, if not directly under 
it; and that it might be a signal to communicate some 
important fact connected with the mode of attack to 
those who were probably lying in ambush near them. 
Tearing the little strip of bunting from the tree, Mabel 
hastened on, scarce knowing what duty next required. 
June might be false to her; but her manner, her looks, 
her affection, and her disposition, as Mabel had known it 
in the journey, forbade the idea. Then came the allu- 
sion to Arrowhead’s admiration of the pale-face beauties, 
some dim recollections of the looks of the Tuscarcra, and 
a painful consciousness that few wives could view with 
kindness one who had estranged a husband's affections. 
None of these images were distinct and clear, but they 
rather gleamed over the mind of our heroine than rested 
in it, and they quickened her pulses, as they did her step, 
without bringing with them the prompt and clear deci- 
sions that usually followed her reflections. She had hu^ 


THE PATHFINDER. 


329 


ried onward toward the hut occupied by the soldier's wife, 
intending to remove at once to the block-house with the 
woman, though she could persuade no other to follow, 
when her impatient walk was interrupted by the voice of 
Muir. 

“ Whither so fast, pretty Mabel,” he cried, “and why 
so given to solitude ? The worthy sergeant will deride 
my breeding if he hear that his daughter passes the morn- 
ings alone and unattended to, though he well knows that 
it is my ardent wish to be her slave and companion, from 
the beginning of the year to its end.” 

“ Surely, Mr. Muir, you must have some authority here,” 
Mabel suddenly arrested her steps to say. “ One of your 
rank would be listened to, at least by a corporal.” 

“I don’t know that — I don’t know that,” interrupted 
Muir, with an impatience and appearance of alarm that 
might have excited Mabel’s attention at another moment. 
“ Command is command, discipline, discipline, and author- 
ity, authority. Your good father would be sore grieved 
did he find me interfering to sully or carry off the laurels 
he is about to win; and I cannot command the corporal, 
without equally commanding the sergeant. The wisest 
way will be for me to remain in the obscurity of a private 
individual in this enterprise; and it is so that all parties, 
from Lundie down, understand the transaction.” 

“ This I know, and it may be well; nor would I give my 
dear father any cause of complaint, but you may influence 
the corporal to his own good.” 

“I’ll no say that,” returned Muir, in his sly Scotch 
way; “it would be far safer to promise to influence him 
to his injury. Mankind, pretty Mabel, have their pecul- 
iarities, and to influence a fellow-being to his own good 
is one of the most difficult tasks of human nature, while 
the opposite is just the easiest. You’ll no forget this, 
my dear; but bear it in mind for your edification and 
government; but what is that you’re twisting round your 
slender finger, as you may be said to twist hearts ? ” 

“ It is nothing but a bit of cloth — a sort of flag — a trifle 
that is hardly worth our attention at this grave moment 
—if- ” 

“A trifle! It’s no so trifling as ye may imagine, Mis- 
tress Mabel,” taking the bit of bunting from her, an^ 


33 ° 


THE PATHFINDER. 


stretching it at full length with both his arms extended, 
while his face grew grave and his eye watchful. “ Ye’ll no 
ha’ been finding this, Mabel Dunham, in the breakfast ?” 

Mabel simply acquainted him with the spot where, and 
the manner in which, she had found the bit of cloth. 
While she was speaking, the eye of the quartermaster was 
not quiet for a moment, glancing from the rag to the face 
of our heroine, then back again to the rag. That his sus- 
picions were awakened was easy to be seen, nor was he 
long in letting it be known what direction they had taken, 
“We are not in a part of the world where our ensigns 
and gauds ought to be spread abroad to the wind, Mabel 
Dunham,” he said, with an ominous shake of the head. 

“ I thought as much myself, Mr. Muir, and brought 
away the little flag, lest it might be the means of betray- 
ing our presence here to the enemy, even though nothing 
is intended by its display. Ought not my uncle to be made 
acquainted with the circumstance ? ” 

“ I no see the necessity for that, pretty Mabel, for, as 
you justly say, it is a circumstance, and circumstances 
sometimes worry the worthy mariner. But this flag, if 
flag it can be called, belongs to a seaman’s craft. You 
may perceive that it is made of what is called bunting, 
and that is a description of cloth used only by vessels 
for such purposes, our colors being of silk, as you may 
understand, or painted canvas. It’s surprisingly like the 
fly of the Scud's ensign ! And now I recollect me to have 
observed that a piece had been cut from that very flag! ” 
Mabel felt her heart sink, but she had sufficient self- 
command not to attempt an answer. 

“It must be looked to,” Muir continued, “and, after 
all, I think it may be well to hold a short consultation 
with Master Cap, than whom a more loyal subject does 
not exist in the British Empire.” 

“I have thought the warning so serious,” Mabel re- 
joined, “ that I am about to remove to the block-house, 
and to take the woman with me.” 

“ I do not see the prudence of that, Mabel. The block- 
house will be the first spot assailed, should there really 
be an attack; and it’s no well provided for a siege, that 
must be allowed. If I might advise in so delicate a con- 
tingency, I would recommend your taking refuge in the 


THE PATHFINDER. 


331 


boat, which, as you may now perceive, is most favorably 
placed to retreat by that channel opposite, where all in it 
would be hid by the islands, in one or two minutes. Water 
leaves no trail, as Pathfinder well expresses it, and there 
appear to be so many different passages in that quarter, 
that escape would be more than probable. I’ve always 
been of opinion that Lundie hazarded too much, in occu- 
pying a post as far advanced, and as much exposed, as 
this.” 

“It’s too late to regret it now, Mr. Muir, and we have 
only to consult our own security.” 

“And the king’s honor, pretty Mabel. Yes, his ma- 
jesty’s arms, and his glorious name, are not to be over- 
looked on any occasion.” 

“ Then I think it might be better, if we all turned our 
eyes toward the place that has been built to maintain 
them, instead of the boat,” said Mabel, smiling; “and so, 
Mr. Muir, I am for the block-house, with a disposition to 
await there the return of my father and his party. He 
would be sadly grieved at finding we had fled, when he 
got back, successful himself, and filled with the confidence 
of our having been as faithful to our duties as he has been 
to his own.” 

“ Nay, nay, for Heaven’s sake, do not misunderstand 
me, Mabel,” Muir interrupted, with some alarm of man- 
ner, “I am far from intimating that any but you females 
ought to take refuge in the boat. The duty of us men is 
sufficiently plain, no doubt, and my resolution has been 
formed from the first, to stand or fall by the block-house.” 

“And did you imagine, Mr. Muir, that two females 
could row that heavy boat in a way to escape the bark 
canoe of an Indian ? ” 

“Ah! my pretty Mabel, love is seldom logical, and its 
fears and misgivings are apt to warp the faculties. I only 
saw your sweet person in possession of the means of safety, 
and overlooked the want of ability to use them. But you’ll 
not be so cruel, lovely creature, as to impute to me, as a 
fault, my intense anxiety on your own account! ” 

Mabel had heard enough. Her mind was too much 
occupied with what had passed that morning, and with 
her fears, to wish to linger further to listen to love 
speeches that, in her most joyous and buoyant moments, 


332 


THE PATHFINDER. 


she would have found unpleasant. She took a hasty leave 
of her companion, and was about to trip away toward the 
hut of the other woman, when Muir arrested the move- 
ment by laying a hand on her arm. 

“ One word, Mabel,” he said, “ before you leave me. 
This little flag may, or it may not, have a particular 
meaning; if it has, now that we are aware of its being 
shown, may it not be better to put it back again, while 
we watch vigilantly for some answer that may betray the 
conspiracy; and if it mean nothing, why, nothing will 
follow.” 

“ This may be all right, Mr. Muir, though if the whole 
is accidental, the flag might be the occasion of the fort’s 
being discovered.” 

Mabel stayed to utter no more, but she was soon out of 
sight, running into the hut toward which she had been first 
proceeding. The quartermaster!* emained on the very 
spot and in the precise attitude in which she had left him 
for quite a minute, first looking at^ the bounding figure of 
the girl and then at the bit of bunting, which he still held 
before him, in a way to denote indecision. His irresolu- 
tion lasted but for this minute, however, for he was soon 
beneath the tree, where he fastened the mimic flag to a 
branch again; though, from his ignorance of the precise 
spot from which it had been taken by Mabel, he left it 
fluttering from a part of the oak where it was still more 
exposed than before to the eyes of any passenger on the 
river, though less in view from the island itself. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


“ Each one has had his supping mess, 

The cheese is put into the press, 

The pans and bowls clean scalded all, 

Reared up against the milk-house wall. ” — Cotton. 

It seemed strange to Mabel Dunham, as she passed 
along on her way to find her female companion, that 
others should be so composed, while she herself felt as if 
the responsibilities of life and death rested on her shoul- 
ders. It is true that distrust of June's motives mingled 


THE PATHFINDER. 


333 


with her forebodings; but, when she came to recall the 
affectionate and natural manner of the young Indian girl, 
and all the evidence of good faith and sincerity, that she 
had seen in her conduct, during the familiar intercourse 
of their journey, she rejected the idea, with the unwilling- 
ness of a generous disposition to believe ill of others. She 
saw, however, that she could not put her companions 
properly on their guard without letting them into the 
secret of her conference with June; and she found herself 
compelled to act cautiously, and with a forethought to 
which she was unaccustomed, more especially in a matter 
of so much moment. 

The soldier’s wife was told to transport the necessaries 
into the block-house, and admonished not to be far from 
it at any time during the day. Mabel did not explain her 
reasons. She merely stated that she had detected some 
signs, in walking about the island, that induced her to 
apprehend that the enemy had more knowledge of its 
position than had been previously believed, and that they 
two, at least, would do well to be in readiness to seek a 
refuge at the shortest notice. It was not difficult to 
arouse the apprehension of this person, who, though a 
stout-hearted Scotchwoman, was ready enough to listen 
to anything that confirmed her dread of Indian cruelties. 
As soon as Mabel believed that her companion was suffi- 
ciently frightened to make her wary, she threw out some 
hints touching the inexpediency of letting the soldiers 
know the extent of their own fears. This was done with 
a view to prevent discussions and inquiries that might em- 
barrass our heroine; she determined to render her uncle, 
the corporal, and his men, more cautious by adopting a 
different course. Unfortunately, the British army could 
not have furnished a worse person for the particular duty 
he was now required to discharge than Corporal McNab, 
the individual who had been left in command during the 
absence of Sergeant Dunham. On the one hand he was 
resolute, prompt, familiar with all the details of a soldier’s 
life, and used to war; on the other, he was supercilious 
as regards the provincials, opinionated on every subject 
connected with the narrow limits of his professional prac- 
tice, much disposed to fancy the British empire the centre 
of ail that is excellent in the world, and Scotland the 


334 


THE PATHFINDER. 


focus of, at least, all moral excellence in that empire. In 
short, he was an epitome, though on a scale suited to his 
rank, of those very qualities which were so peculiar to the 
servants of the crown that were sent into the colonies, as 
these servants estimated themselves in comparison with 
2he natives of the country; or, in other words, he consid- 
ered the American as an animal inferior to the parent 
stock, and viewed all his notions of military service, in 
particular, as undigested and absurd. Braddock himself 
was not less disposed to take advice from a provincial than 
his humble imitator; and he had been known, on more 
than one occasion, to demur to the directions and orders 
of two or three commissioned officers of the corps, who 
happened to be born in America, simply for that reason; 
taking care, at the same time, with true Scottish wariness, 
to protect himself from the pains and penalties of positive 
disobedience. A more impracticable subject, therefore, 
could not well have offered for the purpose of Mabel, and 
yet she felt obliged to lose no time in putting her plan in 
execution. 

“ My father has left you a responsible command, cor- 
poral,” she said, as soon as she could catch McNab a lit- 
tle apart from the rest of the soldiers; “ for should the 
island fall into the hands of the enemy, not only would we 
be captured, but the party that is now out would in all 
probability become their prisoners also.” 

“ It needs no journey from Scotland to this place, to 
know the facts needful to be o’ that way of thinking,” 
returned McNab dryly. 

“ I do not doubt your understanding it as well as my- 
self, Mr. McNab; but I’m fearful that you veterans, ac- 
customed as you are to dangers and battles, are a little 
apt to overlook some of the precautions that may be 
necessary in a situation as peculiar as ours.” 

“ They say Scotland is no conquered country, young 
woman, but I’m thinking there must be some mistake in 
the matter, as we, her children, are so drowsy-headed, 
and apt to be overtaken when we least expect it.” 

“ Nay, my good friend, you mistake my meaning. In 
the first place, I’m not thinking of Scotland at all, but 
of this island ; and then I am far from doubting your vigi- 
lance when you think it necessary to practise it; but my 


THE PATHFINDER. 335 

gre^w .ear is that there may be danger to which your cour- 
age will make you indifferent.” 

“ My courage, Mistress Dunham, is doubtless of a very 
poor quality, being nothing but Scottish courage; your 
father’s is Yankee, and were he here amang us, we should 
see different preparations beyond a doubt. Well, times 
are getting wrang, when foreigners hold commissions and 
carry halberds in Scottish corps; and I no wonder that 
battles are lost, and campaigns go wrang end foremost.” 

Mabel was almost in despair, but the quiet warning of 
June was still too vividly impressed on her mind to allow 
her to yield the matter. She changed her mode of oper- 
ating, therefore, still clinging to the hope of getting the 
whole party witMn the block-house, without being com- 
pelled to betray the source whence she obtained her no- 
tices of the necessity of vigilance. 

“I dare say you are right, Corporal McNab,” she ob- 
served, “ for I’ve often heard of the heroes of your country, 
who have been among the first of the civilized world, if 
what they tell me of them is true.” 

“ Have you read the history of Scotland, Mistress Dun- 
ham?” demanded the corporal, looking up at his pretty 
companion, for the first time, with something like a smile 
on his hard, repulsive countenance. 

“ I have read a little of it, corporal, but I’ve heard 
much more. The lady who brought me up had Scottish 
blood in her veins, and was fond of the subject! ” 

“I’ll warrant ye, the sergeant no troubled himself to 
expatiate on the renown of the country where his regi- 
ment was raised? ” 

“ My father has other things to think of, and the little 
I know was got from the lady I have mentioned.” 

“ She’ll no be forgetting to tell ye o’ Wallace? ” 

“Wallace ? — of him I have even read a good deal.’* 

“And o’ Bruce — and the affair o’ Bannockburn?” 

“Of that, too, as well as of Culloden-muir.” 

The last of these battles was then a recent event, it 
having actually been fought within the recollection of our 
heroine; whose notions of it, however, were so confused 
that she scarcely appreciated the effect her allusion might 
produce on her companion. She knew it had been a vic- 
tory, and had often heard the guests of her patroness 


336 


THE PATHFINDER. 


mention it witn triumph ; and she fancied their feelings 
would iind a sympathetic chord in those of every British 
soldier. Unfortunately, McNab had fought throughout 
that luckless day on the side of the Pretender; and a 
deep scar that garnished his face had been left there by 
the sabre of a German soldier, in the service of the 
House of Hanover. He fancied that his wound bled 
afresh at Mabel’s allusion; and it is certain that the blood 
rushed to his face in a torrent, as if it would pour out of 
his skin at the cicatrix. 

“Hoot! hoot awa’ ! ” he fairly shouted, “ with your 
Culloden and Sheriff-muirs, young woman; ve’ll no be 
understanding the subject at all, and will manifest not 
only wisdom, but modesty, in speaking o’ your ain coun- 
try and its many failings. King George has some loyal 
subjects in the colonies, na doubt; but ’twill be a lang 
time before he sees or hears any guid of them.” 

Mabel was surprised at the corporal’s heat, for she had 
not the smallest idea Svhere the shoe pinched ; but she 
was determined not to give up the point. 

“ I’ve always heard that the Scotch had two of the good 
qualities of soldiers,” she said, “ courage and circum- 
spection; and I feel persuaded that Corporal McNab will 
sustain the national renown.” 

“ Ask ye’r own father, Mistress Dunham; he is ac- 
quaint’ with Corporal McNab, and will no be backward 
to point out his demerits. We have been in battle the’- 
gither, and he is my superior officer, and has a sort o’ 
official right to give the characters of his subordinates.” 

“ My father thinks well of you, McNab, or he would 
not have left you in charge of this island and all it con- 
tains, his own daughter included. Among other things, 
I well know that he calculates largely on your prudence. 
He expects the block-house, in particular, to be strictly 
attended to.” 

“If he wishes to defend the honor of the 55th behind 
logs, he ought to have remained in command himself; 
for, to speak frankly, it goes against a Scotchman’s bluid 
and opinions to be beaten out of the field even before he 
is attacked. We are broadsword men, and love to stand 
foot to foot with the foe. This American mode of fight- 
ing, that is getting into so much favor, will destroy 


THE PATHFINDER. 


337 


the reputation of his majesty’s army, if it no destroy its 
spirit.” 

“ No true* soldier despises caution. Even Major Dun- 
can himself, than whom there is none braver, is celebrated 
for his care of his men.” 

“ Lundie has his weakness, and is fast forgetting the 
broadsword and open heaths, in his tree and rifle prac- 
tice. But, Mistress Mabel, tak’ the word of an old sol- 
dier, who has seen his fifty-fifth year, when he tails ye, 
that there is no surer method to encourage your enemy 
than to seem to fear him; and there is no danger in this 
Indian warfare that the fancies and imaginations of your 
Americans have not augmented and enlarged upon, until 
they see a savage in every bush. We Scots come from a 
naked region, and have no need, and less relish, for cov- 
ers, and so ye’ll be seeing, Mistress Dunham ” 

The corporal gave a spring into the air, fell forward on 
his face, and rolled over on his back — the whole passing 
so suddenly, that Mabel had scarcely heard the sharp 
crack of the rifle that sent a bullet through his body. Our 
heroine did not shriek — did not even tremble; the occur- 
rence was too sudden, too awful, and too unexpected for 
that exhibition of weakness; on the contrary, she stepped 
hastily forward, with a natural impulse to aid her com- 
panion. There was just enough of life left in McNab to 
betray his entire consciousness of all that had passed. 
His countenance had the wild look of one who had been 
overtaken by death, by surprise; and Mabel in her cooler 
moments, fancied that it showed the tardy repentance of 
a wilful and obstinate sinner. 

“Ye’ll be getting into the block-house as fast as possi- 
ble,” McNab whispered as Mabel leaned over him, to 
catch his dying words. 

Then came over our heroine the full consciousness of 
her situation, and of the necessity of exertion. She cast 
a rapid glance at the body at her feet, saw that it had 
ceased to breathe, and fled. It was but a few minutes’ 
run to the block-house, the door of which Mabel had 
barely gained, when it was closed violently in her face by 
Jennie, the soldier’s wife, who, in blind terror, thought 
only of her own safety. The reports of five or six rifles 
were heard while Mabel was calling out for admittance; 


338 


THE PATHFINDER. 


and the additional terror they produced, prevented the 
woman within from undoing quickly the very fastenings 
she had been so expert in applying. After a minute’s 
delay, however, Mabel found the door reluctantly yielding 
to her constant pressure, and she forced her slender body 
through the opening, the instant it was large enough to 
allow of its passage. By this time Mabel’s heart ceased 
to beat tumultuously, and she gained sufficient self-com- 
mand to act collectedly. Instead of yielding to the al- 
most convulsive efforts of her companion to close the door 
again, she held it open long enough to ascertain that none 
of her own party was in sight, or likely, on the instant, to 
endeavor to gain admission; she then allowed the open- 
ing to be shut. Her orders and proceedings now became 
more calm and rational. But a single bar was crossed 
and Jennie was directed to stand in readiness to remove 
even that, at any application from a friend. She then 
ascended the ladder to the room above, where, by means 
of loop-holes, she was enabled to get as good a view of 
the island as the surrounding bushes would allow. Ad- 
monishing her associate below to be firm and steady, she 
made as careful an examination of the environs as her 
situation permitted. 

To her great surprise, Mabel could not, at first, see a 
living soul on the island, friend or enemy. Neither 
Frenchman nor Indian was visible, though a small strag- 
gling white cloud that was floating before the wind, told 
her in which quarter she ought to look for them. The 
rifles had been discharged from the direction of the isl- 
and whence June had come, though whether the enemy 
were on that island, or had actually landed on her own, 
Mabel could not say. Going to the loop that commanded 
a view of the spot where McNab lay, her blood curdled 
at perceiving all three of his soldiers lying apparently 
lifeless at his side. These men had rushed to a common 
centre at the first alarm, and had been shot down almost 
simultaneously by the invisible foe whom the corporal 
had affected to despise. 

Neither Cap nor Lieutenant Muir was to be seen. With 
a beating heart, Mabel examined every opening through 
the trees, and ascended even to the upper story or garret 
of the block-house, where she got a full view of the whole 


THE PATHFINDER. 


339 


island, so far as its covers would allow ; but with no better 
success. She had expected to see the body of her uncle 
lying on the grass, like those of the soldiers, but it was 
nowhere visible. Turning toward the spot where the 
boat lay, Mabel saw that it was still fastened to the shore; 
and then she supposed that, by some accident, Muir had 
been prevented from effecting his retreat in that quarter. 
In short, the island lay in the quiet of the grave, the bod- 
ies of the soldiers rendering the scene as fearful as it was 
extraordinary. 

“For God’s holy sake, Mistress Mabel,” called out the 
woman from below, for though her fear had got to be too 
ungovernable to allow her to keep silence, our heroine’s 
superior refinement, more than the regimental station of 
her father, still controlled her mode of address: “ for His 
holy sake, Mistress Mabel, tell me if any of our friends 
are living! I think I hear groans that grow fainter and 
fainter, and fear that they will all be tomahawked ! ” 

Mabel now remembered that one of the soldiers was 
this woman’s husband, and she trembled at what might 
be the immediate effect of her sorrow, should his death 
become suddenly known to her. The groans, too, gave 
a little hope, though she feared they might come from 
her uncle, who lay out of view. 

“We are in His holy keeping, Jennie,” she answered. 
“ We must trust in Providence, while we neglect none of its 
benevolent means of protecting ourselves. Be careful with 
the door; on no account open it without my directions.” 

“ Oh ! tell me, Mistress Mabel, if you can anywhere 
see Sandy! If I could only let him know that I’m in 
safety; the guid man would be easier in his mind, whether 
free or a prisoner.” 

Sandy was Jennie’s husband, and he lay dead in plain 
view of the loop from which our heroine was then looking. 

“You no tell me if you’re seeing of Sandy,” the woman 
repeated from below, impatient at Mabel’s silence. 

“ There are some of our people gathered about the 
body of McNab,” was the answer, for it seemed sacrile- 
gious in her eyes to tell a direct untruth, under the awful 
circumstances in which she was placed. 

“Is Sandy amang them? ” demanded the woman in a 
voice that sounded appalling by its hoarseness and energy. 


340 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ He may be, certainly, for I see one, two, three, four, 
and all in the scarlet coats of the regiment.” 

“Sandy!” called out the woman frantically; “why 
d’ye no care for yoursal’, Sandy? Come hither the in- 
stant, man, and share your wife’s fortunes, in weal or 
woe. It’s no a moment for your silly discipline and 
vainglorious notions of honor! Sandy! Sandy!” 

Mabel heard the bar turn, and then the door creaked 
on its hinges. Expectation, not to say terror, held her 
in suspense at the loop, and she soon beheld Jennie rush- 
ing through the bushes, in the direction of the cluster of 
dead. It took the woman but an instant to reach the 
fatal spot. So sudden and unexpected had been the blow, 
that she, in her terror, did not appear to comprehend its 
weight. Some wild and half-frantic notion of a decep- 
tion troubled her fancy, and she imagined that the men 
were trifling with her fears. She took her husband’s 
hand, and it was still warm, while she thought a covert 
smile was struggling on his lips. 

“Why will ye fool life away, Sandy?” she cried, pull- 
ing at the arm. “ Ye’ll all be murdered by these accursed 
Indians, and you no takin’ to the block like trusty sol- 
diers! Awa’ ! awa’, and no be losing the precious mo- 
ments ! ” 

In her desperate efforts, the woman pulled the body of 
her husband in a way to cause the head to turn com- 
pletely over, when the small hole in the temple, caused 
by the entrance of a rifle bullet, and a few drops of blood 
trickling over the skin, revealed the meaning of her hus- 
band’s silence. As the horrid truth flashed, in its full ex- 
tent, on her mind, the woman clasped her hands, gave a 
shriek that pierced the glades of every island near, and 
fell at length on the dead body of the soldier. Thrilling, 
heart-reaching, appalling as was that shriek, it was mel- 
ody to the cry that followed it so quickly as to blend the 
sounds. The terrific war-whoop arose out of the covers 
of the island, and some twenty savages, horrible in their 
paint and the other devices of Indian ingenuity, rushed 
forward, eager to secure the coveted scalps. Arrowhead 
was foremost, and it was his tomahawk that brained the 
insensible Jennie, and her reeking hair was hanging at his 
girdle as a trophy, in less than two minutes after she had 


THE PATHFINDER. 


34 ^ 


quitted the block-house. His companions were equally 
active, and McNab and his soldiers no longer presented 
the quiet aspect of men who slumbered. They were left 
in their gore, unequivocally butchered corpses. 

All this passed in much less time than has been required 
to relate it, and all this did Mabel witness. She had 
stood riveted to the spot, gazing on the whole horrible 
scene, as if enchanted by some charm, nor did the idea of 
self, or of her own danger, once obtrude itself on her 
thoughts. But no sooner did she perceive the place where 
the men had fallen, covered with savages, exulting in the 
success of their surprise, than it occurred to her that Jen- 
nie had left the block-house door unbarred. Her heart 
beat violently, for that defence alone stood between her 
and immediate death, and she sprang toward the ladder, 
with the intention of descending to make sure of it. Her 
foot had not yet reached the floor of the second story, 
however, when she heard the door grating on its hinges, 
and she gave herself up for lost. Sinking on her knees, 
the terrified but courageous girl endeavored to prepare 
herself for death, and to raise her thoughts to God. The 
instinct of life, however, was too strong for prayer, and 
while her lips moved, the jealous senses watched every 
sound beneath. When her ears heard the bars, which 
went on pivots, secured to the centre of the door, turning 
into their fastenings, not one, as she herself had directed, 
with a view to admit her uncle, should he apply, but all 
three, she started again to her feet, all spiritual contem- 
plations vanishing in her actual temporal condition, and 
it seemed as if all her faculties were absorbed in the sense 
of hearing. 

The thoughts are active in a moment so fearful. At 
first Mabel fancied that her uncle had entered the block- 
house, and she was about to descend the ladder and throw 
herself into his arms; then the idea that it might be an 
Indian, who had barred the door to shut out intruders, 
while he plundered at leisure, arrested the movement. 
The profound stillness below, was unlike the bold, rest- 
less movements of Cap, and it seemed to savor more of 
the artifice of an enemy; if a friend at all, it could only 
be her uncle or the quartermaster; for the horrible con- 
viction now presented itself to our heroine, that to these 


3 4 2 


THE PATHFINDER. 


two, and herself, were the whole party suddenly reduced, 
if, indeed, the two latter survived. This consideration 
held Mabel in check, and for quite two minutes more a 
breathless silence reigned in the building. During this 
time, the girl stood at the foot of the upper ladder, the 
trap which led to the lower, opening on the opposite side 
of the floor; the eyes of Mabel were riveted on this spot, 
for she now began to expect to see, at each instant, the 
horrible sight of a savage face at the hole. This appre- 
hension soon became so intense that she looked about her 
for a place of concealment. The procrastination of the 
catastrophe she now fully expected, though it were only 
for a moment, afforded a relief. The room contained 
several barrels, and behind two of these Mabel crouched, 
placing her eyes at an opening by which she could still 
watch the trap. She made another effort to pray, but the 
moment was too horrible for that relief. She thought, 
too, that she heard a low rustling, as if one were ascend- 
ing the lower ladder, with an effort at caution so great 
as to betray itself by its own excess; then followed a 
creaking, that she was certain came from one of the steps 
of the ladder, which had made the same noise under her 
own light weight, as she ascended. This was one of 
those instants into which are compressed the sensations 
of years of ordinary existence. Life, death, eternity, and 
extreme bodily pain, were all standing out in bold relief, 
from the plane of every-day occurrences; and she might 
have been taken, at that moment, for a beautiful, pallid 
representation of herself, equally without motion and 
without vitality. But, while such was the outward ap- 
pearance of the form, never had there been a time in her 
brief career when Mabel heard more acutely, saw more 
clearly, or felt more vividly. As yet, nothing was visible 
at the trap; but her ears, rendered exquisitely sensitive 
by intense feeling, distinctly acquainted her that some 
one was within a few inches of the opening of the floor; 
next followed the evidence of her eyes, which beheld 
the dark hair of an Indian rising so slowly through 
the passage that the movements of the head might be 
likened to that of the minute-hand of a clock ; then came 
the dark skin and wild features, until the whole of the 
swarthy face had risen above the floor. The human 


THE PATHFINDER 


343 


countenance seldom appears to advantage when partially 
concealed, and Mabel imagined many additional horrors 
as she first saw the black, roving eyes, and the expression 
of wildness, as the savage countenance was revealed as it 
might be, inch by inch; but when the entire head was 
raised above the floor, a second and a better look assured 
our heroine that she saw the gentle, anxious, and even 
handsome face, of June. 


CHAPTER XXII. 

“ Spectre though I be, 

I am not sent to scare thee or deceive ; 

But in reward of thy fidelity.” — W ordsworth, 

It would be difficult to say which evinced the most sat- 
isfaction, when Mabel sprang to her feet and appeared in 
the centre of the room — our heroine on finding that her 
visitor was the wife of Arrowhead, and not Arrowhead 
himself, or June, at discovering that her advice had been 
followed and that the block-house contained the person 
she had so anxiously, and almost hopelessly, sought. 
They embraced each other, and the unsophisticated Tus- 
carora woman laughed in her sweet accents, as she held, 
her friend at arm’s length and made certain of her pres- 
ence. 

“Block-house good,’’ said the young Indian — “got no 
scalp.” 

“It is, indeed, good, June,” Mabel answered, with a 
shudder, veiling her eyes at the same time, as if to shut 
out a view of the horrors she had so lately witnessed. 
“Tell me, for God’s sake! if you know what has become 
of my dear uncle? I have looked in all directions with- 
out being able to see him.” 

“No here, in block-house?” June asked with some cu- 
riosity. 

“ Indeed he is not — I am quite alone in this place; Jen- 
nie, the woman who was with me, having rushed out to 
join her husband, and perishing for her imprudence.’’ 


344 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“June know — June see; very bad, Arrowhead no feel 
for any wife — no feel for his own.” 

“Ah! June; your life, at least is safe! ” 

“ Don’t know — Arrowhead kill me if he knew all.” 

“God bless and protect you, June — he will bless and 
protect you for your humanity. Tell me what is to be 
done, and if my poor uncle is still living? ” 

“ Don’t know. Salt-water has boat; maybe he go on 
river.” 

“ The boat is still on the shore, but neither my uncle 
nor the quartermaster is anywhere to be seen.” 

“No kill, or June would see. Hide away! Red man 
hide; no shame for paleface.” 

“ It is not the shame that I fear for them, but the op- 
portunity. Your attack was awfully sudden, June! ” 

“Tuscarora!” returned the other, smiling with exulta- 
tion at the dexterity of her husband. “ Arrowhead great 
warrior. ” 

“You are too good and gentle for this sort of life, 
June; you cannot be happy in such scenes! ” 

June’s countenance clouded, and Mabel fancied there 
was some of the savage fire of a chief in her brow as she 
answered — 

“ Yengeese too greedy — take away all hunting grounds 
— chase Six Nation from morning to night; wicked king 
— wicked people. Paleface very bad.” 

Mabel knew that, even in that distant day, there was 
much truth in this opinion, though she was too well in- 
structed not to understand that the monarch, in this, as 
in a thousand other cases, was blamed for acts of which 
he was most probably ignorant. She felt the justice of 
the rebuke, therefore, too much to attempt an answer, and 
her thoughts naturally reverted to her own situation. 

“And what am I to do, June?” she demanded. “It 
cannot be long before your people will assault this build- 
ing.” 

“ Block-house good — got no scalp.” 

“ But they will soon discover that it has got no garri- 
son, too, if they do not know it already. You yourself 
told me the number of people that were on the island, 
and doubtless you learned it from Arrowhead.” 

“Arrowhead know,” answered June, holding up six 


THE PATHFINDER. 


C/~t ij 

fingers to indicate the number of the men. All red men 
know. Four lose scalp already — two got ’em yet! ” 

“Do not speak of it June; the horrid thought curdles 
my blood. Your people cannot know that I am alone in 
the block-house, but may fancy my uncle and the quar- 
termaster with me, and may set fire to the building, in 
order to dislodge them. They tell me that fire is the 
great danger in such places.” 

“No burn block-house,” said June quietly. 

“You cannot know that, my good June, and I have no 
means to keep them off.” 

“No burn block-house. Block-house good; got no 
scalp.” 

“ But tell me why, June; I fear they will burn it.” 

“ Block-house wet — much rain — logs green — no burn 
easy. Red man know it — fine t’ing — then no burn it to 
tell Yengeese that Iroquois been here. Fader come back, 
miss block-house, no found. No, no; Injin too much 
cunning; no touch anything.” 

“ I understand you, June, and hope your prediction may 
be true; for, as regards my dear father, should he escape 
— perhaps he is already dead or captured, June? ” 

“No touch fader — don’t know where he gone — water 
got no trail — red man can’t follow. No burn block-house 
— block-house good — got no scalp.” 

“ Do you think it possible for me to remain here safely 
until my father returns? ” 

“ Don’t know — daughter tell best when fader come 
back.” 

Mabel felt uneasy at the glance of June’s dark eyes as 
she uttered this, for the unpleasant surmise arose that her 
companion was endeavoring to discover a fact that might 
be useful to her own people, while it would lead to the 
destruction of her parent and his party. She was about 
to make an evasive answer, when a heavy push at the 
outer door, suddenly drew all her thoughts to the imme- 
diate danger. 

“They come!” she exclaimed — “perhaps, June, it is 
my uncle, or the quartermaster. I cannot keep out even 
Mr. Muir at a moment like this.” 

“Why no look — plenty loop-hole — made purpose.” 

Mabel took the hint, and going to one of the downward 


346 


THE PATHFINDER. 


loops that had been cut through the logs in the part that 
overhung the basement, she cautiously raised the little 
block that ordinarily filled a small hole, and caught a 
glance at what was passing at the door. The start and 
changing countenance told her companion that some of 
her own people were below. 

“ Red man,” said June, lifting a finger in admonition to 
be prudent. 

“ Four; and horrible in their paint and bloody trophies. 
Arrowhead is among them.” 

June had moved to a corner where several spare rifles 
were deposited, and had already taken one into her hand, 
when the name of her husband appeared to arrest her 
movements. It was but for an instant, however, for she 
immediately went to the loop, and was about to thrust 
the muzzle of the piece through it, when a feeling of nat- 
ural aversion induced Mabel to seize her arm. 

“No — no — no — June,” said the latter — “not against 
your own husband, though my life be the penalty.” 

“No hurt Arrowhead” — returned June, with a slight 
shudder — “ no hurt red man at all. No fire at ’em — only 
scare.” 

Mabel now comprehended the intention of June, and 
no longer opposed it. The latter thrust the muzzle of 
the rifle through the loop-hole, and taking care to make 
noise enough to attract attention, she pulled the trigger. 
The piece had no sooner been discharged than Mabel re- 
proached her friend for the very act that was intended to 
serve her. 

“You declared it was not your intention to fire, ” she 
said, “and you may have destroyed your own husband.” 

“All run away before I fire” — returned June, laughing, 
and going to another loop to watch the movements of her 
friends, laughing still heartier. “ See — get cover — every 
warrior. Think Saltwater and quartermaster here. Take 
good care now,” 

“Heaven be praised! And now, June, I may hope for 
a little time to compose my thoughts to prayer, that I 
may not die like Jennie, thinking only of life and the 
things of the world.” 

June laid aside the rifle, and came and seated herself 
near the box on which Mabel had sunk, under that physi* 


THE PATHFINDER. 


347 


cal reaction which accompanies joy as well as sorrow. 
She looked steadily in our heroine’s face, and the latter 
thought that her countenance had an expression of sever- 
ity mingled with its concern. 

“ Arrowhead great warrior — ” said the Tuscarora’s 
wife. “ All the gals of tribe look at him much. The 
paleface beauty has eyes too! ” 

“June! — what do these words — that look imply — what 
would you say? ” 

“Why you so ’fraid June shoot Arrowhead?” 

“ Would it not have been horrible to see a wife destroy 
her own husband! No, June; rather would I have died 
myself.” 

“ Very sure, dat all! ” 

“That was all, June, as God is my judge — and surely 
that was enough. No — no — there have been sufficient 
horrors to-day, without increasing them by an act like 
this. What other motive can you suspect?” 

“Don’t know. Poor Tuscarora gal very foolish. Ar- 
rowhead great chief, and look all round him. Talk of 
paleface beauty in his sleep. Great chief like many 
wives.” 

“Can a chief possess more than one wife, June, among 
your people? ” 

“ Have as many as he can keep — great hunter marry 
often. Arrowhead got only June now, but he look toa 
much — see too much — talk too much of paleface gal! ” 

Mabel was conscious of this fact, which had distressed 
her not a little in the course of their journey; but it 
shocked her to hear this allusion, coming, as it did, from 
the mouth of the wife herself. She knew that habits and 
opinions made great differences in such matters, but, in 
addition to the pain and mortification she experienced at 
being the unwilling rival of a wife, she felt an apprehen- 
sion that jealousy would be but an equivocal guarantee 
for her personal safety, in her present situation. A closer 
look at June, however, reassured her; for while it was 
easy to trace in the unpracticed features of this unso- 
phisticated being, the pain of blighted affections, no dis- 
trust could have tortured the earnest expression of her 
honest countenance into that of treachery or hate. 

“You will not betray me, June,” Mabel said, pressing' 


34 § 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the other’s hand, and yielding to an impulse of generous 
confidence. “ You will not give up one of your own sex 
to the tomahawk? ” 

“ No tomahawk touch you. Arrowhead no let ’em. If 
June must have sister- wife, love to have you.” 

“No, June; my religion, my feelings, both forbid it; 
and, if I could be the wife of an Indian at all, I would 
never take the place that is yours, in a wigwam.” 

June made no answer, but she looked gratified, even 
grateful. She knew that few, perhaps no Indian girl, 
within the circle of Arrowhead’s acquaintance, could com- 
pare with herself in personal attractions; and though it 
might suit her husband to marry a dozen wives, she 
knew of no one, besides Mabel, whose influence she could 
really dread. So keen an interest, however, had she 
taken in the beauty, winning manners, kindness, and fem- 
inine gentleness of our heroine, that when jealousy came 
to chill these feelings, it had rather lent strength to that 
interest, and, under its wayward influence, had actually 
been one of the strongest of the incentives that had in- 
duced her to risk so much, in order to save her imaginary 
rival from the consequences of the attack that she so well 
knew was about to take place. In a word, June, with a 
wife’s keenness of perception, had detected Arrowhead’s 
admiration of Mabel; and instead of feeling that harrow- 
ing jealousy that might have rendered her rival hateful, 
as would have been apt to be the case with a woman un- 
accustomed to defer to the superior rights of the lordly 
sex, she had studied the looks and character of the pale- 
face beauty, until, meeting with nothing to repel her own 
feelings, but everything to encourage them, she had got 
to entertain an admiration and love for her, which, though 
certainly very different, was scarcely less strong than that 
of her husband. Arrowhead himself had sent her to warn 
Mabel of the coming danger, though he was ignorant that 
she had stolen upon the island in the rear of the assailants, 
and was now intrenched in the citadel along wuth the 
object of their joint care. On the contrary, he supposed, 
as his wife had said, that Cap and Muir were in the block- 
house with Mabel, and that the attempt to repel him and 
his companions had been made by the men. 

“June sorry ‘the Lily,’ ” for so the Indian in her poet- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


349 


ical language, had named our heroine — “June sorry the 
Lily no marry Arrowhead. His wigwam big, and a great 
chief must get enough wives to fill it.” 

“I thank you, June, for this preference, which is not 
according to the notions of us white women,” returned 
Mabel, smiling in spite of the fearful situation in which 
she was placed; “but I may not, probably never shall, 
marry at all.” 

“Must have good husband,” said June, “marry Eau- 
douce, if don’t like Arrowhead.” 

“June! this is not a fit subject for a girl who scarce 
knows if she is to live another hour or not. I would ob- 
tain some signs of my dear uncle’s being alive and safe, 
if possible.” 

“ J une go see.” 

“Can you? — will you? — would it be safe for you to be 
seen on the island? — is your presence known to the war- 
riors? — and would they be pleased to find a woman on 
the war-path with them?” 

All this Mabel asked in rapid connection, fearing that 
the answer might not be as she wished. She had thought 
it extraordinary that June should be of the party, and, 
improbable as it seemed, she had fancied that the woman 
had covertly followed the Iroquois in her own canoe, and 
had got in their advance, merely to give her the notice 
which had probably saved her life. But in all this she 
was mistaken, as June, in her imperfect manner, now 
found means to let her know. 

Arrowhead, though a chief, was in disgrace with his 
own people, and was acting with the Iroquois temporarily, 
though with a perfect understanding. He had a wigwam, 
it is true, but was seldom in it; feigning friendship for the 
English, he had passed the summer ostensibly in their 
service, while he was, in truth, acting for the French, and 
his wife journeyed with him in his many migrations, most 
of the distances being passed over in canoes. In a word, 
her presence was no secret, her husband seldom moving 
without her. Enough of this to embolden Mabel to wish 
that her friend might go out, to ascertain the fate of her 
uncle, did June succeed in letting the other know; and it 
was soon settled between them that the Indian woman 
should quit the block-house with that object the moment 
a favorable opportunity offered. 


35 ° 


THE PATHFINDER. 


They first examined the island, as thoroughly as their 
position would allow, from the different loops, and found 
that its conquerors were preparing for a feast, having 
seized upon the provisions of the English, and rifled the 
huts. Most of the stores were in the block-house, but 
enough were found outside to reward the Indians for an 
attack attended by so little risk. A party had already re- 
moved the dead bodies, and Mabel saw that their arms 
were collected in a pile, near the spot chosen for the ban- 
quet. June suggested that, by some signs she under- 
stood, the dead themselves were carried into a thicket, 
and either buried or concealed from view. None of the 
more prominent objects on the island, however, were dis- 
turbed, it being the desire of the conquerors to lure the 
party of the sergeant into an ambush on its return. June 
made her companion observe a man in a tree, a lookout, 
as she said, to give timely notice of the approach of any 
boat, although the departure of the expedition being so 
recent, nothing but some unexpected event would be likely 
to bring it back so soon. There did not appear to be any 
design to attack the block-house immediately; but every 
indication, as understood by June, rather showed that it 
was the intention of the Indians to keep it besieged until 
the return of the sergeant’s party, lest the signs of an as- 
sault should give a warning to eyes as practised as those 
of the Pathfinder. The boat, however, had been secured, 
and was removed to the spot where the canoes of the In- 
dians were hid in the bushes. 

June now announced her intention of joining her friends, 
the moment being particularly favorable for her to quit 
the block-house. Mabel felt some distrust as they de- 
scended the ladder; but at the next instant she was 
ashamed of the feeling, as unjust to her companion and 
unworthy of herself ; and, by the time they both stood on 
the ground, her confidence was restored. The process of 
unbarring the door was conducted with the utmost cau- 
tion; and, when the last bar was ready to be turned, June 
took her station near the spot where the opening must 
necessarily be. The bar was just turned free of the 
brackets — the door was opened merely wide enough to 
allow her body to pass, and June glided through the space. 
Mabel closed the door again, with a convulsive movement; 


THE PATHFINDER. 


351 


and as the bar turned into its place her heart beat audi- 
bly. She then felt secure; and the two other bars were 
turned down in a more deliberate manner. When all was 
fast again, she ascended to the first floor, where alone she 
could get a glimpse of what was going on without. 

Long and painfully melancholy hours passed, during 
which Mabel had no intelligence from June. She heard 
the yells of the savages; for liquor had carried them 
beyond the bounds of precaution; occasionally caught 
'glimpses of their mad orgies through the loops, and, at all 
times, was conscious of their fearful presence by sounds 
*and sights that would have chilled the blood of one who 
jpiad not so lately witnessed scenes so much more terrible. 

• Toward the middle of the day she fancied she saw a white 
•man on the island, though his dress and wild appearance 
at first made her take him for a newly arrived savage. A 
view of his face, although it was swarthy naturally, and 
much darkened by exposure, left no doubt that her con- 
jecture was true; and she felt as if there was now one of 
a species more like her own present, and one to whom she 
might appeal for succor in the last emergency. Mabel 
little knew, alas! how small was the influence exercised 
by the whites over their savage allies when the latter had 
begun to taste of blood ; or how slight, indeed, was the 
disposition to divert them from their cruelties. 

The day seemed a month by Mabel’s computation; and 
the only part of it that did not drag were the minutes 
spent in prayer. She had recourse to this relief from time 
to time; and at each effort she found her spirit firmer, her 
mind more tranquil, and her tendency to resignation more 
confirmed. She understood the reasoning of June, and 
believed it highly probable that the block-house would be 
left unmolested until the return of her father, in order 
to entice him into an ambuscade; and she felt much less 
apprehension of immediate danger in consequence. But 
the future offered little ground of hope; and her thoughts 
had already begun to calculate the chances of her captiv- 
ity. At such moments, Arrowhead, and his offensive ad- 
miration, filled a prominent place in the background; for 
our heroine well knew that the Indians usually carried 
off to their villages, for the purposes of adoption, such 
captives as they did not slay ; and that many instances had 


35 2 


THE PATHFINDER. 


occurred in which individuals of her sex had passed the 
remainder of their lives in the wigwams of their con- 
querors. Such thoughts as these invariably drove her to 
her knees, and to her prayers. 

While the light lasted, the situation of our heroine was 
sufficiently alarming; but, as the shades of evening gradu- 
ally gathered over the island, it became fearfully appalling. 
By this time the savages had wrought themselves up to the 
point of fury, for they had possessed themselves of all 
the liquor of the English, and their outcries and gesticu- 
lations were those of men truly possessed of evil spirits. 
All the efforts of their French leader to restrain them were 
entirely fruitless, and he had wisely withdrawn to an ad- 
jacent island, where he had a sort of bivouac, that he 
might keep at a safe distance from friends so apt to run 
into excesses. Before quitting the spot, however, this 
officer, at great risk to his own life, succeeded in extin- 
guishing the fire, and in securing the ordinary means to 
relight it. This precaution he took, lest the Indians 
should burn the block-house, the preservation of which 
was necessary to the success of his future plans. He 
would gladly have removed all the arms also, but this he 
found impracticable, the warriors clinging to their knives 
and tomahawks with the tenacity of men who regarded a 
point of honor as long as a faculty was left; and to carry 
off the rifles, and leave behind him the very weapons that 
were generally used on such occasions, would have been 
an idle expedient. The extinguishing of the fire proved 
to be the most prudent measure, for no sooner was the 
officer’s back turned than one of the warriors, in fact, 
proposed to fire the block-house. Arrowhead had also 
withdrawn from the group of drunkards as soon as he 
found that they were losing their senses, and had taken 
possession of a hut, where he had thrown himself on the 
straw, and sought the rest that two wakeful and watchful 
nights rendered necessary It followed that no one was 
left among the Indians to care for Mabel, if indeed any 
knew of her existence at all; and the proposal of the 
drunkard was received with yells of delight by eight or 
ten more as much intoxicated and habitually as brutal as 
himself. 

This was the fearful moment for Mabel. Th6 Indians* 


THE PATHFINDER. 


353 


in their present condition, were reckless of any rifles that 
the block-house might hold; though they did retain dim 
recollections of its containing living beings, an additional 
incentive to their enterprise, and they approached its base 
whooping and leaping like demons. As yet they were 
excited, not overcome by the liquor they had drunk. The 
first attempt was made at the door, against which they 
ran in a body; but the solid structure, which was built 
entirely of logs, defied their efforts. The rush of a hun- 
dred men, with the same object, would have been useless. 
This Mabel, however, did not know, and her heart seemed 
to leap into her mouth as she heard the heavy shock at 
each renewed effort. At length, when she found that the 
door resisted these assaults as if it were of stone, neither 
trembling nor yielding, and only betraying its not being a 
part of the wall by rattling a little on its heavy hinges, 
her courage revived, and she seized the first moment of a 
cessation to look^down through the loop, in order, if possi- 
ble to learn the extent of her danger. A silence, for 
pyhich it was not easy to account, stimulated her curiosity, 
for nothing is so alarming to those who are conscious of 
the presence of imminent danger, as to be unable to trace 
its approach. 

Mabel found that two or three of the Iroquois had been 
raking the embers, where they had found a few small 
coals, and with these they were endeavoring to light a 
fire. The interest with which they labored, the hope of 
destroying, and the force of habit, enabled them to act 
intelligently and in unison, so long as their fell object was 
kept in view. A white man would have abandoned in de- 
spair the attempt to light a fire with coals that came out 
of the ashes resembling sparks; but these children of the. 
forests had many expedients that were unknown to civili- 
zation. By the aid of a few dry leaves, which they alone 
knew where to seek, a blaze was finally kindled, and then 
the addition of a few light sticks made sure of the advan- 
tage that had been obtained. When Mabel stooped down 
over the loop, the Indians were making a pile of brush 
against the door, and as she remained gazing at their pro- 
ceedings, she saw the twigs ignite, the flame dart from 
branch to branch, until the whole pile was crackling and 
snapping* under a bright blaze. The Indians now gave a 


354 


THE PATHFINDER. 


yell oi criumph, and returned to their companions, well 
assured that the work of destruction was commenced. 
Mabel remained looking down, scarcely able to tear her- 
self away from the spot, so intense and engrossing was 
the interest she felt in the progress of the fire. As the 
pile kindled throughout, however, the flames mounted, 
until they flashed so near her eyes as to compel her to re- 
treat. Just as she reached the opposite side of the room, 
to which she had retired in her alarm, a forked stream 
shot up through the loophole, the lid of which she had 
left open, and illuminated the rude apartment with Mabel 
and her desolation. Our heroine now naturally enough 
supposed that her hour was come, for the door, the only 
means of retreat, had been blocked up by the brush and 
fire, with hellish ingenuity, and she addressed herself, as 
she believed for the last time, to her Maker in prayer. 
Her eyes were closed, and for more than a minute her 
spirit was abstracted; but the interests of the world too 
strongly divided her feelings to be altogether suppressed; 
and when they involuntarily opened again, she perceived 
that the streak of flame was no longer flaring in the room, 
though the wood around the little aperture had kindled, 
and the blaze was slowly mounting under the impulsion of 
a current of air that sucked inward. A barrel of water 
stood in a corner, and Mabel, acting more by instinct than 
by reason, caught up a vessel, filled it, and, pouring it on 
the wood with a trembling hand, succeeded in extinguish- 
ing the fire at that particular spot. The smoke prevented 
her from looking down again for a couple of minutes; 
but, when she did, her heart beat high with delight and 
hope at finding that the pile of blazing brush had been 
overturned and scattered, and that water had been thrown 
on the logs of the door, which were still smoking, though 
no longer burning. 

“Who is there?” said Mabel, with her mouth at the 
loop. “ What friendly hand has a merciful Providence 
sent to my succor ? ” 

A light footstep was audible below, and one of those 
gentle pushes at the door was heard, which just moved 
the massive beams on the hinges. 

“ Who wishes to enter ? Is it you, dear, dear, uncle ? 99 

“Salt-water no here. St. Lawrence sweet water,” was 
the answer. “ Open quick — want to come in.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


355 


The step of Mabel was never lighter, or her movements 
more quick and natural, than while she was descending 
the ladder and turning the bars, for all her motions were 
earnest and active. This time she thought only of her 
escape, and she opened the door with a rapidity that did 
not admit of caution. Her first impulse was to rush into 
the open air, in the blind hope of quitting the block-house, 
but June repulsed the attempt, and, entering, she coolly 
barred the door again before she would notice Mabel’s 
eager efforts to embrace her. 

“Bless you — bless you, June!” cried our heroine, most 
fervently; “ you are sent by Providence to be my guardian 
angel! ” 

“No hug so tight,” answered the Tuscarora woman. 
“Pale-face women all cry or all laugh. Let June fasten 
door.” 

Mabel became more rational, and in a few minutes the 
two were again in the upper room, seated as before, hand 
in hand, all feeling of distrust or rivalry between them 
being banished on the one side by the consciousness of 
favors received, and on the other by the consciousness of 
favors conferred. 

“Now tell me, June,” Mabel commenced, as soon as. 
she had given and received one warm embrace, “ have you 
seen or heard aught of my poor uncle ? ” 

“ Don’t know. No one see him; no one hear him; no 
one know anyt’ing. Salt-water run into river, I t’ink, for 
I no find him. Quartermaster gone too. I look, and 
look, and look, but no see ’em one, t’other, no where.” 

“Blessed be God! They must have escaped, though 
the means are not known to us. I thought I saw a French- 
man on the island, June ? ” 

“Yes — French captain come, but he go away, too. 
Plenty of Injin on island.” 

“O June, June, are there no means to prevent my be- 
loved father from falling into the hands of his enemies ? ” 

“ Don’t know, t’ink dat warriors wait in ambush, and 
Yengeese must lose scalp.” 

“Surely, surely, June, you who have done so much for 
the daughter will not refuse to help the father ? ” 

“Don’t know fader — don’t love fader. June help her 
own people, help Arrowhead — husband love scalp.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


35 * 


“ June, this is not yourself! I cannot, will not, believe 
that you wish to see our men murdered! ” 

June turned her dark eyes quietly on Mabel, and for 
a moment her look was stern, though it soon changed 
into one of melancholy compassion. 

“ Lily, Yengeese gal ? ” she said, as one asks a question. 

“ Certainly, and as a Yengeese girl I would save my 
countrymen from slaughter.” 

“Very good — if can. June no Yengeese; June Tus- 
carora — got Tuscarora husband — Tuscarora heart — Tus- 
carora feeling — all over Tuscarora. Lily wouldn’t run 
and tell French dat her fader was coming to gain vic- 
tory ? ” 

“ Perhaps not,” returned Mabel, pressing a hand on a 
brain that felt bewildered — “perhaps not; but you serve 
me, aid me, have saved me, June! Why have you done 
this, if you only feel as a Tuscarora ? ” 

“Don’t only feel as Tuscarora — feel as a gal — feel as 
squaw. Love pretty Lily, and put it in my bosom.” 

Mabel melted into tears, and she pressed the affection- 
ate creature to her heart. It was near a minute before 
she could renew the discourse, but then she succeeded in 
speaking more calmly and with greater coherence. 

“Let me know the worst, June,” she said. “To-night 
your people are feasting; what do they intend to do to- 
morrow ? ” 

“ Don’t know — afraid to see Arrowhead — afraid to ask 
questions — t’ink hide away, till Yengeese come back.” 

“Will they not attempt anything against the block- 
house ? You have seen what they can threaten if they 
will ? ” 

“Too much rum. Arrowhead sleep, or no dare; French 
captain gone away, or no dare. All go to sleep, now.” 

“ And you think I am safe for this night, at least ? ” 

“ Too much rum. If Lily like June, might do much for 
her people.” 

“ I am like you, June, if a wish to serve my countrymen 
can make a resemblance with one as courageous as your- 
self.” 

“No — no — no,” muttered June, in a low voice; “no 
got heart, and June no let you, if had. June’s moder 
prisoner once and warriors got drunk ; moder tomahawked 


THE PATHFINDER. 357 

'em all. Such the way redskin women do, when people 
In danger and want scalp.” 

“You say what is true,” returned Mabel, shuddering, 
and unconsciously dropping June’s hand. “ I cannot do 
that. I have neither the strength, the courage, nor the 
will, to dip my hands in blood.” 

“ T’ink that too; then stay where you be — block-house 
good — got no scalp.” 

“You believe, then, that I am safe here; at least, until 
my father and his people return r 

“ Know so. No dare touch block-house in morning. 
Hark ! All still now — drink rum till head fall down, and 
sleep like log.” 

“ Might I not escape ? Are there not several canoes 
on the island ? Might I not get one, and go and give my 
father notice of what has happened ? ” 

“ Know how to paddle ?” demanded June, glancing her 
eye furtively at her companion. 

“ N ot so well as yourself, perhaps ; but enough to get out 
of sight before morning.” 

“What do then? — couldn’t paddle six — ten — eight 
mile ! ” 

“I do not know; I would do much to warn my father, 
and the excellent Pathfinder, and all the rest, of the dan- 
ger they are in.” 

“ Like Pathfinder ? ” 

“ All like him who know him — you would like him, nay 
love him, if you only knew his heart.” 

“No like him at all. Too good rifle — too good eye — 
too much shoot Iroquois, and June’s people. Must get 
his scalp if can.” 

“And I must save it if I can, June. In this respect, 
then, we are opposed to each other. I will go and find 
a canoe the instant they are all asleep, and quit the 
island.” 

“ No can — June won’t let you. Call Arrowhead.” 

“June! you could not betray me — you would not give 
me up, after all you have done for me ? ” 

“Just so,” returned June, making a backward gesture 
with her hand, and speaking with a warmth and earnest- 
ness Mabel had never witnessed in her before. “ Call 
Arrowhead in a loud voice. One call from wife, wake ^ 


358 


THE PATHFINDER, 


warrior up. June no let Lily help enemy — no \et injur* 
hurt Lily.” 

“I understand you. June, and feel the nature and jus- 
tice of your sentiments; and, after all, it were better that 
I should remain here, for I have most probably overrated 
my strength. But tell me one thing; if my uncle comes 
in the night and asks to be admitted, you will let me open 
the door of the block-house that he may enter ? ” 

“ Sari ain — he prisoner here, and June like prisoner bet- 
ter than scalp; scalp good for honor, prisoner good for 
feeling. But Salt-water hide so close, he don’t know 
where he be himself.” 

Here June laughed, in her girlish, mirthful way, for to 
her scenes of violence were too familiar to leave impres- 
sions sufficiently deep to change her natural character. 
A long and discursive dialogue now followed, in which 
Mabel endeavored to obtain clearer notions of her actual 
situation, under a faint hope that she might possibly be 
enabled to turn some of the facts she thus learned to ad- 
vantage. June answered all her interrogatories, simply, 
but with a caution which showed she fully distinguished 
between that which was immaterial, and that which might 
endanger the safety or embarrass the future operations of 
her friends. Our heroine was incapable of making an 
attempt to entrap her companion, though she plainly per- 
ceived that, could she have been guilty of the meanness, 
she would have found the undertaking one of extreme 
difficulty. June, however, was not required to exercise 
more than a discreet discrimination about what she re- 
vealed ; and the substance of the information she gave, 
may be summed up as follows: 

Arrowhead had long been in communication with the 
French, though this was the first occasion on which he 
had ever entirely thrown aside the mask. He no longer 
intended to trust himself among the English, for he had 
discovered traces of distrust, particularly in Pathfinder ; 
and, with Indian bravado, he now rather wished to blazon 
than to conceal his treachery. He had led the party of 
warriors in the attack on the island, subject, however, to 
the supervision of the Frenchman who has been men- 
tioned, though June declined saying whether he had been 
the means of discovering the position of a place that had 


THE PATHFINDER. 


359 


been tnought to be so concealed from the eyes of the 
enemy, or not. On this point she would say nothing; but 
she admitted that she and her husband had been watching 
the departure of the Scud , at the time they were over- 
taken and captured by the cutter; The French had ob- 
tained their information of the precise position of the sta- 
tion but very recently; and Mabel felt a pang like that 
of some sharp instrument piercing her heart, when she 
thought that there were covert allusions of the Indian 
woman, which would convey the meaning that the intelli- 
gence had come from a paleface, in the employment of 
Duncan of Lundie. This was intimated, however, rather 
than said; and when Mabel had time to reflect on her 
companion’s words, and to remember how sententious and 
brief her periods were, she found room to hope that she 
had misunderstood her, and that Jasper Western would 
yet come out of the affair freed from every injurious impu- 
tation. 

June did not hesitate to confess that she had been sent 
to the island to ascertain the precise number and the oc- 
cupations of those who had been left on it; though she 
also betrayed, in her naive way, that the wish to serve 
Mabel had induced her principally to consent to come. 
In consequence of her report, and information otherwise 
obtained, the enemy was aware of precisely the force that 
could be brought against them; they also knew the num- 
ber of men that had gone with Sergeant Dunham, and 
were acquainted with the object he had in view, though 
they were ignorant of the spot where he expected to meet 
the French boats. It would have been a pleasant sight 
to witness the eager desire of each of these two sincere 
females to ascertain all that might be of consequence to 
their respective friends, and yet the native delicacy with 
which each refrained from pressing the other to make 
revelations that would have been improper, as well as the 
sensitive, almost intuitive feeling, with which each avoided 
saying aught that migh;- prove injurious to her own nation: 
as respects each other, there was perfect confidence; as 
regarded their respective people, entire fidelity. June 
was quite as anxious as Mabel could be on any other 
point, to know where the sergeant had gone, and when he 
was expected to return; but she abstained from putting 


3^0 THE PATHFINDER. 

the question, with the delicacy that would have done honor 
to the Highest civilization ; nor did she once frame any 
other inquiry, in a way to lead, indirectly, to a betrayal 
of the much desired information on that particular point; 
though when Mabel, of her own accord, touched on any 
matter that might, by possibility, throw a light on the 
subject, she listened with an intentness that almost sus- 
pended inspiration. 

In this manner the hours passed away unheeded, for 
both were too much interested to think of rest. Nature 
asserted her rights, however, toward morning; and Mabel 
was persuaded to lie down on one of the straw beds pro- 
vided for the soldiers, where she soon fell into a deep 
sleep June lay near her; and a quiet reigned on the 
whole island, as profound as if the dominion of the forest 
had never been invaded by man. 

When Mabel awoke, the light of the sun was streaming 
in through the loopholes, and she found that the day was 
considerably advanced. June still lay near her, sleeping 
as tranquilly as if she reposed on — we will not say down, 
for the superior civilization of our times repudiates the 
simile — but on a French mattress; and as profoundly as 
if she had never experienced concern. The movements 
of Mabel, notwithstanding, soon awakened one so accus- 
tomed to vigilance; and then the two took a survey of 
what was passing around them, by means of the friendly 
apertures. 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

c ‘ What had the Eternall Maker need of thee, 

The world in his continuall course to keepe, 

That' doest all things deface ? ne lettest see 
That beautie of his worke ? Indeede in sleepe 
The slouthfull body that doth love to steepe 
His lustlesse limbs, and drowne his baser mind, 

Doth praise thee oft, and oft from Stygian deepe, 

Calles thee his goddesse, in his errour blind, 

And great dame Nature’s hand-maid, chearing every kind.” 

— Faerie Queene. 

The tranquillity of the previous night was not contra- 
dicted by the movements of the day. Although Mabel 
and June went to every loophole, not a sign of the pres- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


36 r 

cnee oi a living being on the island was at first to be seen, 
themselves excepted. There was a smothered fire on the 
spot where McNab and his comrades had cooked, as if 
the smoke that curled upward from it was intended as a 
lure to the absent; and all around the huts had been re- 
stored to former order and arrangement. Mabel started 
involuntarily, when her eye at length fell on a group of 
three men, dressed in the scarlet of the 55th, seated on 
the grass in lounging attitudes, as if they chatted in list- 
less security; and her blood curdled as, on a second look, 
she traced the bloodless faces and glassy eyes of the dead. 
They were quite near the block-house; so near, indeed, 
as to have been overlooked at the first eager inquiry ; and 
there was a mocking levity in their postures and gestures, 
for their limbs were stiffening in different attitudes, in- 
tending to resemble life, at which she revolted. Still, 
horrible as these objects were to those near enough to 
discover the frightful discrepancy between their assumed 
and their real characters, the arrangement had been 
made with an art that would have deceived a negligent 
observer at the distance of a hundred yards. After 
carefully examing the shores of the island, June pointed 
out to her companion the fourth soldier, seated with his 
feet hanging over the water, his back fastened to the 
sapling, and holding a fishing-rod in his hand. The 
scalpless heads were covered with the caps, and all ap- 
pearance of blood had been carefully washed from each 
countenance. 

Mabel sickened at this sight, which not only did so 
much violence to all her notions of propriety, but which 
was in itself so revolting, and so opposed to natural feel- 
ing. She withdrew to a seat, and hid her face in her 
apron for several minutes, until a low call from June again 
drew her to her loop-hole. The latter then pointed out 
the body of Jennie, seemingly standing in the door of a 
hut, leaning forward as if to look at the group of men, 
her cap fluttering in the wind, and her hand grasping a 
broom. The distance was too great to distinguish the 
features very accurately; but Mabel fancied that the jaw 
had been depressed, as if to distort the mouth into a sort 
of horrible laugh. 

“June! June!” she exclaimed, “ this exceeds all I have 


362 


THE PATHFINDER. 


ever heard or imagined as possible, in the treachery and 
artifices of your people.” 

“Tuscarora very cunning,” said June, in a way to show 
that she rather approved of than condemned the uses to 
which the dead bodies had been applied. “Do soldier no 
harm now ; do Iroquois good ; got the scalp, first ; now 
make bodies work. By and by, burn ’em.” 

This speech told Mabel how far she was separated from 
her friend in character; and it was several minutes before 
she could again address her. But this temporary aver- 
sion was lost on June, who set about preparing their sim- 
ple breakfast, in a way to show how insensible she was to 
feelings in others, that her own habits taught her to dis- 
card. Mabel ate sparingly, and her companion as if 
nothing had happened. Then they had leisure again for 
their thoughts, and for further surveys of the island. Our 
heroine, though devoured with a feverish desire to be al- 
ways at the loops, seldom went that she did not imme- 
diately quit them in disgust, though compelled by her ap- 
prehensions to return again in a few minutes, called by 
the rustling of leaves or the sighing of the wind. It was, 
indeed, a solemn thing to look out upon that deserted 
spot, peopled by the dead in the panoply of the living, 
and thrown into the attitudes and acts of careless merri- 
ment and rude enjoyment. The effect on our heroine 
was much as if she had found herself an observer of the 
revelries of demons. 

Throughout the live-long day not an Indian nor a 
Frenchman was to be seen, and night closed over the 
frightful but silent masquerade with the steady and un- 
alterable progress with which earth obeys her laws, indif- 
ferent to the petty actors and petty scenes that are in daily 
bustle and daily occurrence on her bosom. The night was 
far more quiet than that which had preceded it, and Mabel 
slept with an increasing confidence, for she now felt satis- 
fied that her own fate would not be decided until the re- 
turn of her father. The following day he was expected, 
however, and, when our heroine awoke, she ran eagerly 
to the loops in order to ascertain the state of the weather 
and the aspect of the skies, as well as the condition of the 
island. There lounged the fearful group on the grass; 
the fisherman still hung over the water, seemi n £ly intent 


THE PATHFINDER. 


363 


on his sport; and the distorted countenance of Jennie 
glared from out the hut in horrible contortions. But the 
weather had changed. The wind blew fresh from the 
southward, and, though the air was bland, it was filled 
with the elements of storm. 

“This grows more and more difficult to bear, June,” 
Mabel said, when she left the window. “ I could even 
prefer to see the enemy than to look any longer on this 
fearful array of the dead.” 

“Hush! here they come. June thought hear a cry, 
like a warrior’s shout when he take a scalp.” 

“ What mean you ? There is no more butchery ? There 
can be no more.” 

“Salt-water!” exclaimed June, laughing, as she stood 
peeping through a loop-hole. 

“My dear uncle! Thank God, he then lives. Oh! 
June — June, you will not let them harm him V' 

“June poor squaw. What warrior t’ink of what she 
say ? Arrowhead bring him here.” 

By this time Mabel was at a loop, and sure enough, 
there were Cap and the quartermaster in the hands of the 
Indians, eight or ten of whom were conducting them to 
the foot of the block; for by this capture the enemy now 
well knew that there could be no man in the building. 
Mabel scarcely breathed until the whole party stood ranged 
directly before the door, when she was rejoiced to see that 
the French officer was among them. A low conversation 
followed, in which both the white leader and Arrowhead 
spoke earnestly to their captives, when the quartermaster 
called out to her in a voice loud enough to be heard: 

“Pretty Mabel! pretty Mabel!” he said, “look out 
of one of the loop-holes, and pity our condition. We are 
threatened with instant death, unless you open the door 
to the conquerors. Relent, then, or we’ll no be wearing 
our scalps half an hour from this blessed moment! ” 

Mabel thought there were mockery and levity in this 
appeal, and its manner rather fortified than weakened her 
resolution to hold the place as long as possible. 

“Speak to me, uncle,” she said, with her mouth at a 
loop, “and tell me what I ought to do! ” 

“ Thank God ! thank God ! ” ejaculated Cap ; “ the sound 
of your sweet voice, Magnet, lightens my heart of a heavj 


3^4 


THE PATHFINDER. 


load, for I feared you had shared the fate of poor Jennie. 
My breast has felt the last four-and-twenty hours as if a ton 
of kentledge had been stowed in it. You ask me what 
you ought to do, child, and I do not know how to advise 
you, though you are my own sister’s daughter! The most 
I can say just now, my poor girl, is most heartily to curse 
the day you or I ever saw this bit of fresh water.” 

“ But, uncle, is your life in danger — do you think I ought 
to open the door ? ” 

44 A round turn and two half-hitches makes a fast belay; 
and I would counsel no one who is out of the hands of 
these devils, to unbar or unfasten anything, in order to 
fall into them. As to the quartermaster and myself, we 
are both elderly men, and not of much account to mankind 
in general, as honest Pathfinder would say; and it can 
make no great odds to him whether he balances the purs- 
er’s books this year or the next; and as for myself, why, 
if I were on the seaboard I should know what to do — but 
up here in this watery wilderness, I can only say that, if 
I were behind that bit of a bulwark, it would take a good 
deal of Indian logic to rouse me out of it.” 

44 You’ll no be minding all your uncle says, pretty 
Mabel,” put in Muir, 44 for distress is obviously fast un- 
settling his faculties, and he is far from calculating all 
the necessities of the emergency. We are in the hands 
here of very considerate and gentlemanly pairsons, it must 
be acknowledged, and one has little occasion to apprehend 
any disagreeable violence. The casualties that have oc- 
curred are the common incidents of war, and can no 
change our sentiments of the enem}% for they are far from 
indicating that any injustice will be done the prisoners. 
I am sure that neither Master Cap nor myself has any 
cause of complaint since we have given ourselves up to 
Master Arrowhead, who reminds me of a Roman, or a 
Spartan, by his virtues and moderation, but ye’ll be re- 
membering that usages differ, and that our scalps may be 
lawful sacrifices to appease the manes of fallen foes, un- 
less you save them by capitulation.” 

44 1 shall do wiser to keep within the block-house until 
the fate of the island is settled,” returned Mabel. 44 Our 
enemies can feel no concern on account of one like 
me, knowing that I can do them no harm; and I greatly 


THE PATHFINDER. 


3 6 5 


prefer to remain here, as more befitting my sex and 
years. 

“ If nothing but your convenience were concerned, Ma- 
bel, we should all cheerfully acquiesce in your wishes; 
but these gentlemen fancy that the work will aid their 
operations, and they have a strong desire to possess it. 
To be frank with you, finding myself and your uncle in a 
very peculiar situation, I acknowledge that, to avert 
consequences, I have assumed the power that belongs to 
his majesty’s commission, and entered into a verbal capit- 
ulation, by which I have engaged to give up the block- 
house and the whole island. It is the fortune of war, and 
must be submitted to; so open the door, pretty Mabel, 
forthwith, and confide yourself to the care of those who 
know how to treat beauty and virtue in distress. There 
is no courtier in Scotland more complaisant than this 
chief, or who is more familiar with the laws of decorum.” 

“No leave block-house,” muttered June, who stood at 
Mabel’s side, attentive to all that passed. “ Block-house 
good; got no scalp. ” 

Our heroine might have yielded, but for this appeal; 
for it began to appear to her that the wisest course would 
be to conciliate the enemy by concessions, instead of ex- 
asperating them by resistance. They must know that 
Muir and her uncle were in their power; that there was 
no man in the building; and she fancied they might pro- 
ceed to batter down the door, or to cut their way through 
the logs with axes, if she obstinately refused to give them 
peaceable admission, since there was no longer any reason 
to dread the rifle. But the words of June induced her to 
hesitate; and the earnest pressure of the hand, and en- 
treating looks of her companion, strengthened a resolution 
that was faltering. 

“No prisoner yet,” whispered June; “let ’em make 
prisoner before ’ey take prisoner — talk big; June man- 
age ’em.” 

Mabel now began to parley more resolutely with Muir, 
for her uncle seemed disposed to quiet his conscience by 
holding his tongue; and she plainly intimated that it was 
not her intention to yield the building. 

“You forget the capitulation, Mistress Mabel,” said 
Muir- “ the honor of one of his majesty’s servants is con- 


3 66 


THE PATHFINDER. 


cerned; and the honor of his majesty through his servant. 
You will remember the finesse and delicacy that belong to 
military honor ? ” 

“ I know enough, Mr. Muir, to understand that you 
have no command in this expedition, and, therefore, can 
have no right to yield the block-house; and I remember, 
moreover, to have heard my father say that a prisoner 
loses all authority, for the time being.” 

“ Rank sophistry, pretty Mabel, and treason to the 
king, as well as dishonoring his commission, and discred- 
iting his name. You’ll no be persevering in your inten- 
tions, when your better judgment has had leisure to reflect, 
and to make conclusions on matters and circumstances.” 

“Ay,” put in Cap, “this is a circumstance, and be 
d d to it.” 

“No mind what ’e uncle say,” ejaculated June, who 
was occupied in a far corner of the room. “ Block-house 
good; got no scalp. ” 

“ I shall remain as I am, Mr. Muir, until I get some 
tidings of my father. He will return in the course of the 
next ten days.” 

“ Ah ! Mabel, this artifice will no deceive the enemy, 
who, by means that would be unintelligible, did not our 
suspicions rest on an unhappy young man with too much 
plausibility, are familiar with all our doings and plans, 
and well know that the sun will not set before the worthy 
sergeant and his companions will be in their power. 
Aweel ! Submission to Providence is truly a Christian 
virtue ! ” 

“ Mr. Muir, you appear to be deceived in the strength 
of this work, and to fancy it weaker than it is. Do you 
desire to see what I can do in the way of defence, if so 
disposed ? ” 

“I dinna’ mind if I do,” answered the quartermaster, 
who always grew Scotch as he grew interested. 

“ What do you think of that, then ? Look at the loop 
of the upper story.” 

As soon as Mabel had spoken, all eyes were turned up- 
ward and beheld the muzzle of a rifle cautiously thrust 
through a hole — June having resorted again to a ruse that 
had already proved so successful. The result did not 
disappoint expectation. No sooner did the Indians catch 


THE PATHFINDER. 


3<57 


a sight of me fatal weapon, than they leaped aside, and 
in less than a minute every man among them had sought 
a cover. The French officer kept his eye on tne barrel 
of the piece, in order to ascertain that it was not pointed 
jn his particular direction, and coolly took a pinch of snuff. 
A.s neither Muir nor Cap had anything to apprehend from 
the quarter in which the others were menaced they kept 
their ground. 

“ Be wise, my pretty Mabel, be wise,” exclaimed the 
former, “ and no be provoking useless contention. In 
the name of all the kings of Albin, whom have ye closeted 
with you in that wooden tower, that seemeth so bloody- 
minded ? There is necromacy about this matter, and all 
our characters may be involved in the explanation.” 

“What do you think of the Pathfinder, Master Muir, 
for a garrison to so strong a post ? ” cried Mabel, resort- 
ing to an equivocation that the circumstances rendered 
very excusable. “What will your French and Indian 
companions think of the aim of the Pathfinder’s rifle ?” 

“Bear gently on the unfortunate, pretty Mabel, and 
do not confound the king’s servants, may Heaven bless 
him and all his royal lineage, with the king’s enemies. If 
Pathfinder be indeed in the block-house, let him speak, 
and we will hold our negotiations directly with him. He 
knows us as friends, and we fear no evil at his hands, and 
least of all to myself ; for a generous mind is apt to render 
rivalry in a certain interest a sure ground of respect and 
amity; since admiration of the same woman proves a 
community of feeling and tastes.” 

The reliance on Pathfinder’s friendship did not extend 
beyond the quartermaster and Cap, however, for even the 
French officer, who had hitherto stood his ground so well, 
shrank back at the sound of the terrible name. So un- 
willing, indeed, did this individual, a man of iron nerves, 
and one long accustomed to the dangers of the peculiar 
warfare in which he was engaged, appear to be to remain 
exposed to the assaults of Killdeer, whose reputation 
throughout all that frontier was as well established as that 
of Marlborough in Europe, that he did not disdain to 
seek a cover, insisting that his two prisoners should follow 
him. Mabel was too glad to be rid of her enemies to la- 
ment the departure of her friends, though she kissed her 


3 63 


THE PATHFINDER. 


hand to Cap, through the loop, and called out to him in 
terms of affection as he moved slowly and unwillingly 
away. 

The enemy now seemed disposed to abandon all at- 
tempts on the block-house for the present; and June, who 
had ascended to a trap in the roof, whence the best view 
was to be obtained, reported that the whole party had 
assembled to eat, on a distant and sheltered part of the 
island, where Muir and Cap were quietly sharing in the 
good things that were going, as if they had no concern 
on their minds. The information greatly relieved Mabel, 
and she began to turn her thoughts again to the means of 
effecting her own escape, or at least of letting her father 
know of the danger that awaited him. The sergeant was 
expected to return that afternoon, and she knew that a 
moment gained or lost might decide his fate. 

Three or four hours flew by. The island was again 
buried in a profound quiet, the day was wearing away, 
and yet Mabel had decided on nothing. June was in the 
basement preparing their frugal meal, and Mabel herself 
had ascended to the roof, which was provided with a trap 
that allowed her to go out on the top of the building, 
whence she commanded the best view of surrounding ob- 
jects that the island possessed. Still it was limited, and 
much obstructed by the tops of trees. The anxious girl 
did not dare to thrust her person in sight, knowing well 
that the unrestrained passion of some savage might induce 
him to send a bullet through her brain. She merely kept 
her head out of the trap, therefore, whence, in the course 
of the afternoon, she made as many surveys of the differ- 
ent channels about the island as “ Anne, sister Anne ” took 
of the environs of the Castle of Blue Beard. 

The sun had actually set, no intelligence had been re- 
ceived from the boats, and Mabel ascended to the roof, 
to take a last look, hoping that the party w r ould arrive in 
the darkness; which would at least prevent the Indians 
from rendering their ambuscade as fatal as it might other- 
wise prove, and which possibly might enable her to give 
some more intelligible signal by means of fire, than it 
would otherwise be in her power to do. Her eye had 
turned carefully round the whole horizon, and she was 
just on the point of drawing in her person, when an ob- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


3 6 9 


ject that struck her as new caught her attention. The 
islands lay grouped so closely that six'or eight different 
channels or passages between them were in view; and in 
one of the most covered, concealed in a great measure by 
the bushes of the shore, lay, what a second look assured 
her, was a bark canoe. It contained a human being be- 
yond a question. Confident that, if an enemy, her signal 
could do no harm, and, if a friend, that it might do good, 
the eager girl waved a little flag toward the stranger which 
she had prepared for her father, taking care that it should 
not be seen from the island. 

Mabel had repeated her signal eight or ten times in 
vain, and she began to despair of its being noticed, when 
a sign was given in return, by the wave of a paddle, and 
the man so far discovered himself as to let her see it was 
Chingachgook. Here, then, at last was a friend; one, 
too, who was able and, she doubted not, would be willing 
to aid her! From that instant her courage and her spirits 
revived. The Mohican had seen her; must have recog- 
nized her, as he knew that she was of the party, and 
no doubt, as soon as it was sufficiently dark, he would 
take the steps necessary to release her. That he was 
aware of the presence of the enemy was apparent by the 
great caution he observed, and she had every reliance on 
his prudence and address. The principal difficulty now 
existed with June, for Mabel had seen too much of her 
fidelity to her own people, relieved as it was by sympathy 
for herself, to believe she would consent to a hostile In- 
dian’s entering the block-house, or indeed to her leaving 
it, with a view to defeat Arrowhead’s plans. The half 
hour that succeeded the discovery of the presence of the 
Great Serpent was the most painful of Mabel Dunham's 
life. She saw the means of effecting all she wished, as 
it might be within reach of her hand, and yet it eluded 
her grasp. She knew June’s decision and coolness not- 
withstanding all her gentleness and womanly feeling, and 
at last she came reluctantly to the conclusion that there 
was no other way of attaining her end than by deceiving 
her tried companion and protector. It was revolting to 
one as sincere and natural, as pure of heart, and as much 
disposed to ingenuousness as Mabel Dunham, to practise 
deception on a friend like June; but her own father’s Hfe 
24 


370 


THE PATHFINDER. 


was at s^ake, her companion would receive tiu positive 
injury, and she had feelings and interests directly touch- 
ing herself that would have removed greater scruples. 

As soon as it was dark, Mabel’s heart began to beat 
with violence; and she adopted and changed her plan of 
proceedings at least a dozen times in the course of a single 
hour. June was always the source of her greatest em- 
barrassment; for she did not well see, firstly, how she was 
to ascertain when Chingachgook was at the door, where 
she doubted not he would soon appear; and, secondly, 
how she was to admit him without giving the alarm to 
her watchful companion. Time pressed, however; for 
the Mohican might come and go away again, unless she 
were ready to receive him. It would be too hazardous to 
the Delaware to remain long on the island; and it became 
absolutely necessary to determine on some course, even 
at the risk of choosing one that was indiscreet. After 
running over various projects in her mind, therefore, Ma- 
bel came to her companion and said, with as much calm- 
ness as she could assume: 

“ Are you not afraid, June, now your people believe 
Pathfinder is in the block-house, that they will come and 
try to set it on fire ? ” 

“No t’ink such t’ink. No burn block-house. Block- 
house good; got no scalp.” 

“June, we cannot know. They hid because they be- 
lieved what I told them of Pathfinder being with us.” 

“ Believe fear. Fear come quick, go quick. Fear make 
run away; wit make come back. Fear make warrior fool 
as well as young girl.” 

Here June laughed, as her sex is apt to laugh, when 
anything particularly ludicrous crosses their youthful 
fancies. 

“I feel uneasy, June; and wish you yourself would go 
ap again to the roof and look out upon the island to make 
certain that nothing is plotting against us; you know the 
signs of what your people intend to do better than I.” 

“June go, Lily wish; but very well know that Indian 
sleep; wait for fader. Warrior eat, drink, sleep all time, 
when don’t fight, and go on war-trail. Den never sleep, 
eat, drink — never feel. Warrior sleep, now.” 

“God send it may be so! but go up, dear June, and 


THE PATHFINDER. 37 I 

look well about you. Danger may come when we least 
expect it.” 

June rose and prepared to ascend to the roof; but she 
paused, with her foot on the first round of the ladder. 
Mabel’s heart beat so violently that she was fearful its 
throbs would be heard; and she fancied that some gleam- 
ings of her real intentions had crossed the mind of her 
friend. She was right, in part; the Indian woman having 
actually stopped to consider whether there was any indis- 
cretion in what she was about to do. At first the suspi- 
cion that Mabel intended to escape flashed across her 
mind; then she rejected it, on the ground that the pale- 
face had no means of getting off the island, and that the 
block-house was much the most secure place she could 
find. The next thought was, that Mabel had detected 
some sign of the near approach of her father. This idea, 
too, lasted but an instant; for June entertained some such 
opinion of her companion’s ability to understand symp- 
toms of this sort — symptoms that had escaped her own 
sagacity — as a woman of high fashion entertains of the 
accomplishments of her maid. Nothing else in the same 
way offering, she began slowly to mount the ladder. 

Just as she reached the upper floor, a lucky thought 
suggested itself to our heroine; and, by expressing it in 
a hurried but natural manner, she gained a great advan- 
tage in executing her projected scheme. 

“I will go down,” she said, “and listen by the door, 
June, while you are on the roof; and we will thus be on 
our guard at the same time, above and below.” 

Though June thought this savored of unnecessary cau- 
tion, well knowing no one could enter the building unless 
aided from within, nor any serious danger menace them 
from the exterior without giving sufficient warning, she 
attributed the proposition to Mabel’s ignorance and alarm; 
and, as it was made apparently with frankness, it was re- 
ceived without distrust. By these means our heroine was 
enabled to descend to the door as her friend ascended to 
the roof; and June felt no unusual inducement to watch 
her. The distance between the two was now too great to 
admit of conversation; and for three or four minutes 
one was occupied in looking about her as well as the dark- 
ness would allow, and the other in listening at the door 


372 


THE PATHFINDER. 


with as much intentness as if all her senses were absorbed 
in the single faculty of hearing. 

June discovered nothing from her elevated stand — the 
obscurity, indeed, almost forbade the hope of such a re- 
sult; but it would not be easy to describe the sensation 
with which Mabel thought she perceived a slight and 
guarded push against the door. Fearful that all might 
not be as she wished, and anxious to let Chingachgook 
know she was near, she began, though in tremulous and 
low notes, to sing. So profound was the stillness at the 
moment, that the sound of the unsteady warbling ascended 
to the roof, and in a minute June began to descend. A 
slight tap at the door was heard immediately after. Mabel 
was bewildered, for there was no time to lose. Hope 
proved stronger than fear, and with unsteady hands she 
commenced unbarring the door. The moccasins of June 
was heard on the floor above her, when only a single bar 
was turned. The second was released as her form reached 
half-way down the lower ladder. 

“ What you do? ” exclaimed June angrily. “ Run away 
— mad — leave block-house? Block-house good.” The 
hands of both were on the last bar, and it would have 
been cleared from the fastenings but for a vigorous shove 
from without, which jammed the wood. A short struggle 
ensued, though both were disinclined to violence. June 
would probably have prevailed had not another and a 
more vigorous push from without forced the bar past the 
trifling impediment that held it when the door opened. 
The form of a man was seen to enter, and both the females 
rushed up the ladder, as if equally afraid of the conse- 
quences. The stranger secured the door, and, first examin- 
ing the lower room with great care, he cautiously ascended 
the ladder. June, as soon as it became dark, had closed 
the loops of the principal floor and lighted a candle. By 
means of this dim taper, then, the two females stood in 
expectation, waiting to ascertain the person of their visi- 
tor, whose wary ascent of the ladder was distinctly audi- 
ble, though sufficiently deliberate. It would not be easy 
to say which was the most astonished on finding, when 
the stranger had got through the trap, that Pathfinder 
stood before them. 

“God be praised! ” Mabel exclaimed, for the idea that 


THE PATHFINDER. 


373 


the block-house would be impregnable with such a garri- 
son at once crossed her mind. “ Oh ! Pathfinder, what has 
become of my father ? ” 

“ The sergeant is safe as yet, and victorious, though it 
is not in the gift of man to say what will be the ind of it. 
Is not that the wife of Arrowhead skulking in the corner 
there ? ” 

“ Speak not of her reproachfully, Pathfinder; I owe her 
my life — my present security — tell me what has happened 
to my father’s party, why you are here, and I will relate 
all the horrible events that have passed upon this island.” 

“Few words will do the last, Mabel; for one used to 
Indian deviltries needs but little explanation on such a 
subject. Everything turned out as we had hoped with 
the expedition, for the Sarpent was on the lookout, and 
he met us with all the information heart could desire. 
We ambushed three boats, druv’ the Frenchers out of 
them, got possession and sunk them, according to orders, 
in the deepest part of the channel; and the savages of 
Upper Canada will fare badly for Indian goods this win- 
ter. Both powder and ball, too, will be scarcer among 
them than keen hunters and actyve warriors may relish. 
We do not lose a man, or have even a skin barked; nor 
do I think the inimy suffered, to speak of. In short, 
Mabel it has been such an expedition as Lundie likes; 
much harm to the foe and little harm to ourselves.” 

“Ah! Pathfinder, I fear when Major Duncan comes to 
hear the whole cf the sad tale, he will find reason to re- 
gret he ever undertook the affair! ” 

“ I know what you mean — I know what you mean ; but 
by telling my story straight you will understand it better. 
As soon as the sergeant found himself successful, he sent 
me and the Sarpent off in canoes to tell you how matters 
had turned out, and he is following with the two boats; 
which, being so much heavier, cannot arrive before morn- 
ing. I parted from Chingachgook this forenoon, it being 
agreed that he should come up one set of channels, and I 
another, to see that the path was clear. I have not seen 
the chief since.” 

Mabel now explained the manner in which she had dis- 
covered the Mohican, and her expectation that he would 
yet come to the block-house 


374 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Not he — not he! A regular scout will never get be- 
hind walls or logs so long as he can keep the open air and 
find useful employment. I should not have come myself, 
Mabel, but I promised the sergeant to comfort you, and 
to look after your safety. Ah’s me! I reconnoitred the 
island with a heavy heart this forenoon, and there was a 
bitter hour when I fancied you might be among the slain.” 

“ By what lucky accident were you prevented from pad- 
dling up boldly to the island and from falling into the 
hands of the enemy ? ” 

“ By such an accident, Mabel, as Providence employs 
to tell the hound where to find the deer, and the deer how 
to throw off the hound. No — no — these artifices and 
deviltries with dead bodies may deceive the soldiers of 
the 55th and the king’s officers, but they are all lost upon 
men who have passed their days in the forest. I came 
down the channel in face of the pretended fisherman, and, 
though the ryptiles have set up the poor wretch with art, 
it was not ingenious eonugh to take in a practyced eye. 
The rod was held too high — for the 55th have learned to 
fish at Oswego, if they never knew how before — and 
then the man was too quiet for one who got neither prey 
nor bite. But we never come in upon a post blindly; and 
I have laid outside a garrison a whole night because they 
had changed their sentries and their mode of standing 
guard. Neither the Sarpent nor myself would be likely 
to be taken in by these contrivances, which were most 
probably intended for the Scotch, who are cunning enough 
in some particulars, though anything but witches when 
Indian sarcumventions are in the wind.” 

“ Do you think my father and his men may yet be de- 
ceived ? ” said Mabel quickly. 

“ Not if I can prevent it, Mabel. You say the Sarpent 
is on the lookout too; so there is a double chance of our 
succeeding in letting him know his danger; though it 
is by no means sartain by which channel the party may 
come.” 

“ Pathfinder,” said our heroine solemnly, for the fright- 
ful scenes she had witnessed had clothed death with un- 
usual horrors — “ Pathfinder, you have professed love for 
me — a wish to make me your wife! ” 

“ I did ventur’ to speak on that subject, Mabel, and the 


THE PATHFINDER. 


375 


sergeant Das even lately said that you are Kindly dis- 
posed; but I am not a man to parsecute the thing I 
love.” 

“ Hear me, Pathfinder — I respect you — honor you — re- 
vere you; save my father from this dreadful death, and 
I can worship you. Here is my hand as a solemn pledge 
for my faith, when you come to claim it.” 

“ Bless you — bless you, Mabel; this is more than I de- 
sarve — more, I fear, than I shall know how to profit by 
as I ought. It was not wanting, however, to make me 
sarve the sergeant. We are old comrades, and owe each 
other a life — though I fear me, Mabel, being a father’s 
comrade is not always the best recommendation with the 
daughter.” 

“You want no other recommendation than your own 
acts — your courage — your fidelity; all that you do and 
say, Pathfinder, my reason approves, and the heart will, 
nay, it shall follow.” 

“ This is happiness I little suspected this night; but we 
are in God’s hands, and he will protect us in his own way. 
These are sweet words, Mabel, but they were not wanting 
to make me do all that man can do in the present cir- 
cumstances: they will not lessen my endeavors, neither.” 

“Now we understand each other, Pathfinder,” Mabel 
added hoarsely, “ let us not lose one of the precious mo- 
ments, which may be of incalculable value. Can we get 
into your canoe and go and meet my father ? ” 

“That is not the course I advise. I don’t know by 
which channel the sergeant will come, and there are 
twenty; rely on it, the Sarpent will be winding his way 
through them all. No, no, my advice is to remain here. 
The logs of this block-house are still green, and it will 
not be easy to set them on fire; and I can make good the 
place, bating a burning, ag’in a tribe. The Iroquois na- 
tion cannot dislodge me from this fortress, so long as we 
can keep the flames off it The sergeant is now camped 
on some island, and will not come in until morning. If 
We hold the block, we can give him timely warning, by 
firing rifles, for instance, and should he determine to at- 
tack the savages, as a man of his temper will be very 
likely to do, the possession of this building will be of great 
account in the affair. No, no, my judgment says remain,, 


37® 


THE PATHFINDER. 


if the object be to sarve the sergeant; though escape for 
our two selves will be no very difficult matter.” 

“Stay,” murmured Mabel, “stay, for God’s sake, Path- 
finder. Anything — everything, to save my father! ” 

“Yes, that is natur’. I am glad to hear you say this, 
Mabel, for I own a wish to see the sergeant fairly sup- 
ported. As the matter now stands, he has gained himself 
credit; and could he once drive off these miscreants, and 
make an honorable retreat, laying the huts and blocks in 
ashes, no doubt, no doubt Lundie would remember it, and 
sarve him accordingly. Yes, yes, Mabel, we must not 
only save the sergeant’s life but we must save his reputa- 
tion.” 

“No blame can rest on my father, on account of the 
surprise of this island! ” 

“There’s no telling — there’s no telling; military glory 
is a most unsartain thing. I’ve seen the Delawares routed, 
when they desarved more credit than at other times when 
they’ve carried the day. A man is wrong to set his head 
on success of any sort, and, worst of all, on success in 
war. I know little of the settlements, or of the notions 
that men hold in them; but up hereaway, even the Indians 
rate a warrior’s character according to his luck. The prin- 
cipal thing with a soldier is never to be whipped, nor do I 
think mankind stops long to consider how the day was 
won or lost. For my part, Mabel, I make it a rule when 
facing the inimy to give him as good as I can send, and 
to try to be as moderate as I can when we get the better; 
as for feeling moderate after a defeat, little need be said 
on that score, as a flogging is one of the most humbling 
things in natur’. The parsons preach about humility, in 
the garrisons; but if humility would make Christians, the 
king’s troops ought to be saints, for they’ve done little, 
as yet, this war, but take lessons from the French, begin- 
ning at Fort du Quesne, and ending at Ty! ” 

“ My father could not have suspected that the position 
of the island was known to the enemy,” resumed Mabel, 
whose thoughts were running on the probable effect of 
the recent events on the sergeant. 

“That is true; nor do I well see how the Frenchers 
found it out. The spot is well chosen, and it is not an 
easy matter, even to one who has travelled the road to 


THE PATHFINDER. 377 

and from it, to find it again. There has been treachery, 
I fear; yes, yes, there must have been treachery l ” 

“ O Pathfinder! can this be? ” 

“ Nothing is easier, Mabel, for treachery comes as 
nat’ral to some men as eating. Now, when I find a 
man all fair words, I look close to his deeds; for when the 
heart is right, and raaly intends to do good, it is generally 
satisfied to let the conduct speak instead of the tongue.” 

“Jasper Western is not one of these,” said Mabel im- 
petuously. “ No youth can be more sincere in his manner, 
or less apt to make the tongue act for the head.” 

“Jasper Western! — tongue and heart are both right 
with that lad, depend on it, Mabel; and the notion taken 
up by Lundie, and the quartermaster, and the sergeant, 
and your uncle too, is as wrong as it would be to think 
that the sun shone by night and the stars shone by day. 
No — no — I’ll answer for Eau-douce’s honesty with my 
own scalp, or, at need, with my own rifle.” 

“Bless you — bless you, Pathfinder!” exclaimed Mabel, 
extending her own hand and pressing the iron fingers of 
her companion, under a state of feeling that far surpassed 
her own consciousness of its strength. “ You are all that 
is generous — all that is noble; God will reward you for it.” 

“ Ah ! Mabel, I fear me, if this be true, I should not 
covet such a wife as yourself, but would leave you to be 
sued for by some gentleman of the garrison, as your 
desarts require.” 

“We will not talk of this any more to-night,” Mabel 
answered, in a voice so smothered as to seem nearly choked. 
“We must think less of ourselves just now, Pathfinder, 
and more of our friends. But I rejoice from my soul 
that you believe Jasper innocent. Now let us talk of 
other things — ought we not to release June ? ” 

“I’ve been thinking about the woman, for it will not 
be safe to shut her eyes and leave her ears open, on this 
side of the block-house door. If we put her in the upper 
room and take away the ladder, she’ll be a prisoner at 
least.” 

“ I cannot treat one thus who has saved my life. It 
would be better to let her depart; I think she is too much 
my friend to do anything to harm me.” 

“You do not know the race, Mabel; you do not knotf 


373 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the race. It’s true she’s not a full-blooded Mmgo, but 
she consorts with the vagabonds, and must have larned 
some of their tricks. What is that ? ” 

“ It rounds like oars — some boat is passing through the 
channel ! ” 

Pathfinder closed the trap that led to the lower room, 
to prevent June from escaping, extinguished the candle, 
and went hastily to a loop, Mabel looking over his 
shoulder in breathless curiosity. These several move- 
ments consumed a minute or two; and, by the time the 
eye of the scout had got a dim view of things without, 
two boats had swept past, and shot up to the shore, at a 
spot some fifty yards beyond the block, where there was 
a regular landing. The obscurity prevented more from 
being seen; and Pathfinder whispered to Mabel that the 
new-comers were as likely to be foes as friends, for he did 
not think her father could possibly have arrived so soon. 
A number of men were now seen to quit the boats, and 
then followed three hearty English cheers, leaving no 
further doubts of the character of the party. Pathfinder 
sprang to the trap, raised it, glided down the ladder, and 
began to unbar the door, with an earnestness that proved 
how critical he deemed the moment. Mabel had followed, 
but she rather impeded than aided his exertions, and but a 
single bar was turned when a heavy discharge of rifles 
was heard. They were still standing in breathless sus- 
pense, as the war-whoop rang in all the surrounding 
thickets. The door now opened, and both Pathfinder and 
Mabel rushed intp the open air. All human sounds had 
ceased. After listening for a half a minute, however, 
Pathfinder thought he heard a few stifled groans near the 
boats; but the wind blew so fresh, and the rustling of the 
leaves mingled so much with the murmurs of the passing 
air, that he was far from certain. But Mabel was borne 
away by her feelings, and she rushed from him, taking 
the way toward the boats. 

“ This will not do, Mabel,” said the scout, in an earnest 
but low voice, seizing her by an arm — “ this will never do. 
Sartain death would follow, and that without sarving any 
one. We must return to the block.” 

“ Father', my poor, dear, murdered father I” said the 
girl wildly, though habitual caution, even at that trying 


THE PATHFINDER. 379 

moment, mduced her to speak low. “ Pathfinder, if yon 
love me, let me go to my dear father! ” 

“This will not do, Mabel — it is singular that no one 
speaks; no one returns the fire from the boat — and I have 
left Killdeer in the block! But of what use would a rifle 
be when no one is to be seen? ” 

At that moment the quick eye of Pathfinder, which, 
while he held Mabel firmly in his grasp, had never ceased 
to roam over the dim scene, caught an indistinct view of 
five or six dark, crouching forms endeavoring to steal 
past him, doubtless with the intention of intercepting their 
retreat to the block-house. Catching up Mabel, and 
putting her under an arm as if she were an infant, the 
sinewy frame of the woodsman was exerted to the utmost, 
and he succeeded in entering the building. The tramp of 
his pursuers seemed immediately at his heels. Dropping 
his burden, he turned, closed the door, and had fastened 
one bar, as a rush against the solid mass threatened to 
force it from the hinges. To secure the other bars was 
the work of an instant. 

Mabel now ascended to the first floor, while Pathfinder 
remained as a sentinel below. Our heroine was in that 
state in which the body exerts itself apparently without the 
control of the mind. She relighted the candle mechani- 
cally, as her companion had desired, and returned with it 
below, where he was waiting her reappearance. No 
sooner was Pathfinder in possession of the light, than he 
examined the place carefully to make certain no one was 
concealed in the fortress, ascending to each floor in suc- 
cession, after assuring himself that he left no enemy in 
his rear. The result was the conviction that the block 
house now contained no one but Mabel and himself, June 
having escaped. When perfectly convinced on this mate- 
rial point, Pathfinder rejoined our heroine in the princi- 
pal apartment, setting down the light and examining the. 
priming of Killdeer before he seated himself. 

“ Our worst fears are realized,” said Mabel, to whom 
the hurry and excitement of the last five minutes appeared 
to contain the emotions of a life. “ My beloved father 
and all his party are slain or captured! ” 

“We don’t know that — morning will tell us all. I do 
not think the affair as settled as that, or we should hear 


3 So 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the vagabond Mingoes yelling out their triumpn around 
the block-house. Of one thing we may be sartain; if the 
inimy has really got the better, he will not be long in 
calling upon us to surrender. The squaw will let him into 
the secret of our situation, and, as they well know the 
place cannot be fired by daylight so long as Killdeer con- 
tinues to desarve his reputation, you may depend on it 
that they will not be backward in making their attempt 
while darkness helps them.” 

“ Surely I hear a groan! ” 

“ ’Tis fancy, Mabel; when the mind gets to be skeary, 
especially a woman’s mind, she often consaits things that 
have no reality. I’ve known them that imagined there 
was truth in dreams ” 

“ Nay, I am not deceived — there is surely one below, 
and in pain ! ” 

Pathfinder was compelled to own that the quick senses 
of Mabel had not deceived her. He cautioned her, how- 
ever, to repress her feelings; and reminded her that the 
savages were in the practice of resorting to every artifice 
to attain their ends, and that nothing was more likely 
than that the groans were feigned with a view to lure 
them from the block-house, or at least to induce them to 
open the door. 

“No — no — no!” said Mabel, hurriedly, “there is no 
artifice in those sounds, and they come from anguish of 
body, if not of spirit. They are fearfully natural.” 

“Well, we shall soon know whether a friend is there 
or not. Hide the light again, Mabel, and I will speak 
the person from a loop.” 

Not a little precaution was necessary, according to Path- 
finder’s judgment and experience, in performing even this 
simple act, for he had known the careless slain by their 
want of proper attention to what might have seemed, to 
the ignorant, supererogatory means of safety. He did 
not place his mouth to the loop itself, but so near it that 
he could be heard without raising his voice, and the same 
precaution was observed as regards his ear. 

“Who is below?” Pathfinder demanded, when his 
arrangements were made to his mind. “ Is any one in 
suffering ? If a friend, speak boldly, and depend on our 
aid.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


381 

ce Pathfinder ! ” answered a voice that both Mabel and 
the person addressed at once knew to be the sergeant’s, 
“ Pathfinder, in the name of God, tell me what has be- 
come of my daughter.” 

“Father, I am here! — unhurt — safe — and oh! that I 
could think the same of you! ” 

The ejaculation of thanksgiving that followed was dis- 
tinctly audible to the two, but it was clearly mingled with 
a groan of pain. 

“ My worst forebodings are realized! ” said Mabel with 
a sort of desperate calmness. “ Pathfinder, my father 
must be brought within the block, though we hazard 
everything to do it.” 

“ This is natur’, and it is the law of God. But, Mabel, 
be calm, and endivor to be cool. All that can be effected 
for the sergeant by human invention shall be done. I 
only ask you to be cool.” 

“ I am — I am, Pathfinder. Never in my life was I 
more calm, more collected, than at this moment. But 
remember how perilous may be every instant; for Heav- 
en’s sake, what we do let us do without delay.” 

Pathfinder was struck with the firmness of Mabel’s tones, 
and perhaps he was a little deceived by the forced tran- 
quillity and self-possession she had assumed. At all 
events, he did not deem any further explanation neces- 
sary, but descended forthwith and began to unbar the 
door. This delicate process was conducted with the usual 
caution, but, as he warily permitted the mass of timber 
to swing back on the hinges, he felt a pressure against it 
that had nearly induced him to close it again. But, catch- 
ing a glimpse of the cause through the crack, the door 
was permitted to swing back, when the body of Sergeant 
Dunham, which was propped against it, fell partly within 
the block. To draw in the legs and secure the fastenings 
occupied the Pathfinder but a moment. Then there ex- 
isted no obstacle to their giving their undivided care to 
the wounded man. 

Mabel in this trying scene conducted herself with the 
sort of unnatural energy that her sex, when aroused, is 
apt to manifest. She got the light, administered water 
to the parched lips of her father, and assisted Pathfinder 
in forming a bed of straw for his body and a pillow of 


382 


THE PATHFINDER. 


clothes for his head. All this was done earnestly, and 
almost without speaking; nor did Mabel shed a tear un- 
til she heard the blessings of her father murmured on her 
head for this tenderness and care. All this time Mabel 
had merely conjectured the condition of her parent. Path- 
finder, however, showed greater attention to the physical 
danger of the sergeant. He ascertained that a rifle-ball 
had passed through the body of the wounded man ; and 
he was sufficiently familiar with injuries of this nature to 
be certain that the chances of his surviving the hurt were 
very trifling, if any. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

“ Then — drink my tears, while yet they fall — 

Would that my bosom’s blood were balm ; 

And — well thou knowest — I’d shed it all, 

To give thy brow one minute’s calm.” — MOORE. 

The eyes of Sergeant Dunham had not ceased to follow 
the form of his beautiful daughter, from the moment that 
the light appeared. He next examined the door of the 
block to ascertain its security; for he was left on the 
ground below, there being no available means of raising 
him to the upper floor. Then he sought the face of Ma- 
bel; for, as life wanes fast, the affections resume their 
force, and we begin to value that most which we feel we 
are about to lose forever. 

“ God be praised, my child, you at least have escaped 
their murderous rifles ! ” he said, for he spoke with strength, 
and seemingly with no additional pain. “ Give me the 
history of this sad business, Pathfinder.” 

“ Ah’s me, sergeant! it has been sad, as you say. That 
there has been treachery, and the position of the island 
has been betrayed, is now as sartain, in my judgment, as 
that we still hold the block. But ” 

“ Major Duncan was right,” interrupted Dunham, laying 
a hand on the other’s arm. 

“Not in the sense you mean, sergeant — no, not in that 
p’int of view; never. At least, not in my opinion. I 
know that natur’ is weak — human natur’, I mean — and 


THE PATHFINDER. 


383 


that we should none of us vaunt of our gifts, whether red 
or white; but I do not think that a truer-hearted lad lives 
on the lines than Jasper Western.” 

“Bless you — bless you for that, Pathfinder!” burst 
forth from Mabel’s very soul, while a flood of tears gave 
vent to emotions that were so varied, while they were so 
violent; “oh, bless you, Pathfinder, bless you! The 
brave should never desert the brave — the honest should 
sustain the honest.” 

The father’s eyes were fastened anxiously on the face 
of his daughter, until the latter hid her countenance in her 
apron to conceal her tears; and then they turned with 
inquiry to the hard features of the guide. The latter 
merely wore their usual expression of frankness, sincerity, 
and uprightness; and the sergeant motioned to him to 
proceed. 

“You know the spot where the Sarpent and I left you, 
sergeant,” Pathfinder resumed; “and I need say nothing 
of all that happened afore. It is now too late to lament 
what is gone and passed; but I do think if I had stayed 
with the boats this would not have come to pass! Other 
men may be as good guides; I make no doubt they are; 
but then natur’ bestows its gifts, and some must be bet- 
ter than other some. I dare say poor Gilbert, who took 
my place, has suffered for his mistake.” 

“ He fell at my elbow,” the sergeant answered in a low, 
melancholy tone. “We have, indeed, all suffered for our 
mistakes! ” 

“No, no, sergeant; I meant no condemnation on you; 
for men were never better commanded than yourn in this 
very expedition. I never beheld a prettier flanking; and 
the way in which you carried your own boat up ag’in’ their 
howitzer might have teached Lundie himself a lesson.” 

The eyes of the sergeant brightened ; his face even wore 
an expression of military triumph, though it was of a de- 
gree that suited the humble sphere in which he had been 
an actor. 

“’Twas not badly done, my friend,” he said; “and we 
carried their log breastwork by storm! ” 

“ ’Twas nobly done, sergeant; though I fear, when all 
the truth comes to be known, it will be found that these 
vagabonds have got their howitzer back ag’in. Well, 


3 8 4 


THE PATHFINDER. 


well, put a stout heart upon it, and try to forget all that 
is disagreeable, and to remember only the pleasant part 
of the matter. That is your truest philosophy ; ay, and 
truest religion, too. If the inimy has got the howitzer 
ag’in, they’ve only got what belonged to them afore, and 
what we couldn’t help. They haven’t got the block-house 
yet, nor are they likely to get it, unless they fire it in the 
dark. Well, sergeant, the Sarpent and I separated about 
ten miles down the river, for we thought it wisest not to 
come upon even a friendly camp without the usual cau- 
tion. What has become of Chingachgook, I cannot say, 
though Mabel tells me he is not far off, and I make no 
question the noble-hearted Delaware is doing his duty, 
although he is not now visible to our eyes. Mark my 
word, sergeant; before this matter is over, we shall hear 
of him at some critical time, and that in a discreet and 
creditable manner. Ah! the Sarpent is indeed a wise and 
virtuous chief; and any wlrte man might covet his gifts, 
though his rifle is not quite as sure as Killdeer, it must 
be owned. Well, as I came near the island, I missed the 
smoke, and that put me on my guard ; for I knew that the 
men of the 55th were not cunning enough to conceal that 
sign, notwithstanding all that has been told them of its 
danger. This made me more careful, until I came in sight 
of this mock fisherman, as I’ve just told Mabel; and then 
the whole of their infernal arts was as plain before me 
as if I saw it on a map. I need not tell you, sergeant, 
that my first thoughts were of Mabel; and that, finding 
she was in the block, I came here, in order to live or die 
in her company. ” 

The father turned a gratified look upon his child, and 
Mabel felt a sinking of the heart that, at such a moment, 
she could not have thought possible, when she wished to 
believe all her concern centred in the situation of her pa- 
rent. As the latter held out his hand she took it in her 
own and kissed it. Then, kneeling at his side, she wept 
as if her heart would, break. 

“Mabel,” he said steadily, “the will of God must be 
done. It is useless to attempt deceiving either you or 
myself ; my time has come, and it is a consolation to me 
to die like a soldier. Lundie will do me justice, for our 
good friend Pathfinder will tell him what has been done. 


THE PATHFINDER. ^5 

and how all came to pass. You do not forget our last 
conversation? ” 

“ Nay, father, my time has probably come too,” ex- 
claimed Mabel, who felt just then as if it would be a relief 
to die. “ I cannot hope to escape, and Pathfinder would 
do well to leave us, and return to the garrison with the 
sad news while he can.” 

“ Mabel Dunham,” said Pathfinder reproachfully, 
though he took her hand with kindness. “ I have not de- 
sarved this; I know I am wild, and uncouth, and un- 
gainly ” 

“ Pathfinder!” 

“Well — well, we’ll forget it; you do not mean it; you 
could not think it. It is useless, now, to talk of escap- 
ing, for the sergeant cannot be moved; and the block- 
house must be defended, cost what it will. Maybe Lundie 
will get the tidings of our disaster, and send a party to 
raise the siege.” 

“ Pathfinder — Mabel! ” said the sergeant, who had been 
writhing with pain, until the cold sweat stood on his fore- 
head — “come both to my side. You understand each 
other, I hope? ” 

“ Father, say nothing of that — it is all as you wish.” 

“Thank God! Give me your hand, Mabel — here, 
Pathfinder, take it. I can do no more than give you the 
girl in this way. I know you will make her a kind hus- 
band. Do not wait on account of my death; there will 
be a chaplain in the fort before the season closes: let 
him marry you at once. My brother, if living, will wish 
to go back to his vessel, and then the child will have no 
protector. Mabel, your husband will have been my 
friend, and that will be some consolation to you, I hope.” 

“Trust this matter to me, sergeant,” put in Pathfinder; 
“ leave it all in my hands, as your dying request, and, 
depend on it, all will go as it should.” 

“ I do — I do put all confidence in you, my trusty friend, 
and empower you to act as I could act myself, in every 
particular. Mabel, child — hand me the water — you will 
never repent this night. Bless you, my daughter — God 
bless and have you in his holy keeping.” 

This tenderness was inexpressibly touching to one of 
Mabel’s feelings; and she felt at that moment as if her 


386 


THE PATHFINDER. 


future union with Pathfinder had received a solemnization 
that no ceremony of the church could render more holy. 
Still, a weight as that of a mountain lay upon her heart, 
and she thought it would be happiness to die. Then fol- 
lowed a short pause, when the sergeant, in broken sen- 
tences, briefly related what had passed since he parted with 
Pathfinder and the Delaware. The wind had come more 
favorable, and instead of encamping on an island, agree- 
ably to the original intention, he had determined to con- 
tinue and reach the station that night. Their approach 
would have been unseen, and a portion of the calamity 
avoided, he thought, had they not grounded on the point 
of a neighboring island, where, no doubt, the noise made 
by the men in getting off the boat gave notice of their 
approach, and enabled the enemy to be in readiness to 
receive them. They had landed without the slightest 
suspicion of danger, though surprised at not finding a sen- 
tinel, and had actually left their arms in the boat, with 
the intention of first securing their knapsacks and provi- 
sions. The fire had been so close that, notwithstanding 
the obscurity, it was very deadly. Everyman had fallen; 
though two or three, however, subsequently arose and 
disappeared. Four or five of the soldiers had been killed, 
or so nearly so as to survive but a few minutes; though, 
for some unknown reason, the enemy did not make the 
usual rush for the scalps. Sergeant Dunham fell with 
others; and he had heard the voice of Mabel as she 
rushed from the block-house. This frantic appeal aroused 
all his parental feelings, and had enabled him to crawl as 
far as the door of the building, where he had raised him- 
self against the logs in the manner already mentioned. ' 

After this simple explanation was made, the sergeant 
was so weak as to need repose; and his companions, while 
they ministered to his wants, suffered some time to pass 
in silence. Pathfinder took the occasion to reconnoitre 
from the loops and the roofs, and he examined the con- 
dition of the rifles, of which there were a dozen kept in 
the building, the soldiers having used their regimental 
muskets in their expedition. But Mabel never left her 
father’s side for an instant, and when, by his breathing, 
she fancied he slept, she bent her knees and prayed. 

The half-hour that succeeded was awfully solemn and 


THE PATHFINDER. 


387 


still. The moccasin of Pathfinder was barely heard 
overheard, and occasionally the sound of the breech of 
a rifle fell upon the floor, for he was busied in examining 
the pieces with a view to ascertain the state of their 
charges and their primings. Beyond this, nothing was 
so loud as the breathing of the wounded man. Mabel’s 
heart yearned to be in communication with the father she 
was so soon to lose, and yet she would not disturb his ap- 
parent repose. But Dunham slept not; he was in that 
state when the world suddenly loses its attractions, its 
illusions, and its power, and the unknown future fills the 
mind with its conjectures, its revelations, and its im- 
mensity. He had been a moral man for one of his 
mode of life, but he had thought little of this all-impor- 
tant moment. Had the din of battle been ringing in his 
ears, his martial ardor might have endured to the end ; 
but there, in the silence of that nearly untenanted block- 
house, with no sound to enliven him, no appeal to keep 
alive factitious sentiment, no hope of victory to impel, 
things began to appear in their true colors, and this state 
of being to be estimated at its just value. He would have 
given treasures for religious consolation, yet he knew not 
where to turn to seek it. He thought of Pathfinder, but 
he distrusted his knowledge. He thought of Mabel; for 
the parent to appeal to the child for such succor appeared 
like reversing the order of nature. Then it was that he 
felt the full responsibility of the parental character, and 
had some clear glimpses of the manner in which he him- 
self had discharged the trust toward an orphan child. 
While thoughts like these were rising in his mind, Mabel, 
who watched the slightest change in his breathing, heard 
a guarded knock at the do.or. Supposing it might be 
Chingachgook, she rose, undid two of the bars, and held 
the third one in her hand, as she asked who was there. 
The answer was in her uncle’s voice, and he implored her 
to give him immediate admission. Without an instant of 
hesitation she turned the bar, and Cap entered. He had 
barely passed the opening when Mabel closed the door 
again and secured it as before, for practice had rendered 
her expert in this portion of her duties. 

The sturdy seaman, when he had made sure of the state 
of his brother-in-law, and that Mabel, as well as himself, 


THE PATHFINDER. 


3S8 

was safe, was softened nearly to tears. His own appear- 
ance he explained by saying that he had been carelessly 
guarded, under the impression that he and the quarter- 
master were sleeping under the fumes of liquor with which 
they had been plied, with a view to keep them quiet in 
the expected engagement. Muir had been left asleep, or 
seeming to sleep; but Cap had run into the bushes on the 
alarm of the attack, and, having found Pathfinder’s canoe, 
had only succeeded at that moment in getting to the 
block-house, whither he had come with the kind intent of 
escaping with his niece by water. It is scarcely necessary 
to say that he changed his plan when he ascertained the 
state of the sergeant and the apparent security of his 
present quarters. 

“If the worst comes to the worst, Master Pathfinder,” 
he said, “ we must strike, and that will entitle us to quar- 
ter. We owe it to our manhood to hold out a reasonable 
time, and to ourselves to haul down the ensign in season 
to make saving conditions. I wished Master Muir to do 
the same thing when we were captured by these chaps you 
call vagabonds — and rightly are they named, for viler 
vagabonds do not walk the earth ” 

“You’ve found out their characters! ” interrupted Path- 
finder, who was always as ready to chime in with abuse of 
the Mingoes as with the praises of his friends. “Now, 
had you fallen into the hands of the Delawares, you would 
have larned the difference.” 

“Well, to me they seem much of a muchness; black- 
guards fore and aft, always excepting our friend the Ser- 
pent, who is a gentleman for an Injin. But, when these 
savages made an assault on us, killing Corporal McNab 
and his men as if they had been so many rabbits, Lieu- 
tenant Muir and myself took refuge in one of the holes of 
this here island, of which there are so many among the 
rocks — regular geological underground burrows made by 
the water, as the lieutenant says — and there we remained, 
stowed away like two leaguers in a ship’s hold, until we 
gave out for want of grub. A man may say that grub is 
the foundation of human nature. I desired the quarter- 
master to make terms, for we could have defended our- 
selves for an hour or two in the place, bad as it was; but 
he declined, on the ground that the knaves wouldn’t keep 


THE PATHFINDER. 


389 


faith it any of them were hurt, and so there was no use in 
asking them to. I consented to strike, on two principles: 
one, that we might be said to nave struck already, for 
running below is generally thought to be giving up the 
ship; and the other, that we had an enemy in our stom- 
achs that was more formidable in his attacks than the 

enemy on deck. Hunger is a d ble circumstance, as 

any man who has lived on it eight-and-forty hours will 
acknowledge.” 

“Uncle!” said Mabel in a mournful voice, and with 
an expostulatory manner, “ my poor father is sadly, sadly 
hurt ! ” 

“True, Magnet, true — I will sit by him, and do my 
best at consolation. Are the bars well fastened, girl ? on 
such an occasion the mind should be tranquil and undis- 
turbed. ' r 

“We are safe, I believe, from all but this heavy blow 
of Providence.” 

“Well, then, Magnet, do you go up to the floor above, 
and try to compose yourself, while Pathfinder runs aloft 
and takes a lookout from the crosstrees. Your father 
may wish to say something to me in private, and it may 
be well to leave us alone. These are solemn scenes, and 
inexperienced people like myself do not always wish 
what they say to be overheard.” 

Although the idea of her uncle’s affording religious 
consolation by the side of a deathbed certainly never 
obtruded itself on the imagination of Mabel, she thought 
there might be a propriety in the request with which she 
was unacquainted; and she complied accordingly. Path- 
finder had already ascended to the roof to make his sur- 
vey, and the brothers-in-law were left alone. Cap took a 
seat by the side of the sergeant, and bethought him 
seriously of the grave duty he had before him. A silence 
of several minutes, succeeded, during which brief space 
the mariner was digesting the substance of his intended 
discourse. 

“I must say, Sergeant Dunham,” Cap at length com- 
menced, in his peculiar manner, “ that there has been 
mismanagement somewhere in this unhappy expedition, 
and the present being an occasion when truth ought to 
be spoken, and nothing but the truth, I feel it my duty 


39 ° 


THE PATHFINDER. 


to say as much in plain language. In short, sergeant, 
on this point there cannot well be two opinions; for 
seaman as I am, and no soldier, I can see several errors 
myself that it needs no great education to detect.” 

“ What would you have, brother Cap ? ” returned the 
other in a feeble voice — “ what is done is done; it is now 
too late to remedy it.” 

“ Very true, brother Dunham, but not to repent of it; 
the good book tells us it is never too late to repent; and 
I’ve always heard that this is the precious moment. If 
you’ve anything on your mind, sergeant, hoist it out 
freely, for you know you trust it to a friend. You were 
my own sister’s husband, and poor little Magnet is my 
own sister’s daughter; and, living or dead, I shall always 
look upon you as a brother. It’s a thousand pities that 
you didn’t lie off and on with the boats, and send a canoe 
ahead to reconnoitre; in which case your command would 
have been saved, and this disaster would not have befallen 
us all. Well, sergeant, we are all mortal; that is some 
consolation, I make no doubt; and if you go before a 
little, why we must follow. Yes, that must give him con- 
solation.” 

“I know all this, brother Cap; and hope I’m prepared 
to meet a soldier’s fate — there is poor Mabel ” 

“ Ay, ay — that’s a heavy drag, I know; but you 
wouldn’t take her with you, if you could, sergeant; and 
so the better way is to make as light of the separation as 
you can. Mabel is a good girl, and so w T as her mother 
before her; she was my sister, and it shall be my care to 
see that her daughter gets a good husband, if our lives 
and scalps are spared ; for I suppose no one would care 
about entering into a family that has no scalps.” 

“ Brother, my child is betrothed — she will become the 
wife of Pathfinder.” 

“ Well, brother Dunham, every man has his opinions, 
and his manner of viewing things; and to my notion this 
match will be anything but agreeable to Mabel; I have 
no objections to the age of the man ; I am not one of them 
that thinks it necessary to be a boy to make a girl happy, 
but on the whole I prefer a man of about fifty for a hus- 
band; still, there ought not to be any circumstances 
between the parties to make them unhappy. Circum- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


391 


stances piay the devil with matrimony; and I set it down 
as one, that Pathfinder don’t know as much as my niece. 
You’ve seen but little of the girl, sergeant, and have not 
got the run of her knowledge ; but let her pay it out freely, 
as she will do when she gets to be thoroughly acquainted; 
and you’ll fall in with but few schoolmasters that can keep 
their luffs in her company.” 

“She’s a good child — a dear, good child,” muttered 
the sergeant, his eyes filling with tears — “ it is my mis- 
fortune that I have seen so little of her.” 

“ She is indeed a good girl, and knows altogether too 
much for poor Pathfinder, who is a reasonable man, and 
an experienced mail in his own way; but who has no more 
idea of the main chance than you have of spherical trigo- 
nometry, sergeant.” 

“ Ah ! brother Cap, had Pathfinder been with us in the 
boats this sad affair might not have happened ! ” 

“ That is quite likely ! his worst enemy will allow that 
the man is a good guide; but, sergeant, if the truth must 
be spoken, you have managed this expedition in a loose 
way altogether; you should have hove-to off your haven 
and sent in a boat to reconnoitre, as I told you before. 
This is a matter to be repented of and I tell it to you 
because truth, in such a case, ought to be spoken.” 

“My errors are dearly paid for, brother; and poor 
Mabel, I fear, will be the sufferer. I think, however, 
that the calamity would not have happened had there not 
been treason. I fear me, brother, that Jasper Eau-douce 
has played us false! ” 

“That is just my notion; this fresh-water life must, 
sooner or later, undermine any man’s morals. Lieutenant 
Muir and myself talked this matter over, while we lay in 
a bit of a hole out here on this island; and we both came 
to the conclusion that nothing short of Jasper’s treachery 
could have brought us all into this infernal scrape. Well, 
sergeant, you had better compose your mind, and think 
of other matters; when a vessel is about to enter a strange 
port it is more prudent to think of the anchorage inside 
than to be underrunning all the events that have turned 
up during the v’yage — there’s the log-book expressly 
to note all these matters in ; and what stands there must 
form the column of figures that’s to be posted ud for or 


THE PATHFINDER. 


39 *. 

against us. How now, Pathfinder ! is there anything in 
the wind, that you come down the ladder like an Indian in 
the wake of a scalp? ” 

The guide raised a finger for silence, then beckoned to 
Cap to ascend the first ladder, and to allow Mabel to 
take his place at the side of the sergeant. 

“We must be prudent, and we must be bold too,” he 
said, in a low voice. “ The riptyles are in earnest in their 
intention to fire the block, for they know there is now 
nothing to be gained by letting it stand. I hear the voice 
of that vagabond Arrowhead among them, and he is urging 
them to set about their diviltry this very night. We 
must be stirring, Salt-water, and doing too. Luckily, 
there are four or five barrels of water in the block, and 
these are something toward a siege. My reckoning is 
wrong, too, or we shall yet reap some advantage from 
that honest fellow, the Sarpent, being at liberty.” 

Cap did not wait for a second invitation, but stealing 
away he was soon in the upper room with Pathfinder, 
while Mabel took his post by the side of her father’s 
humble bed. Pathfinder had opened a loop, having so 
far concealed the light that it would not expose him to a 
treacherous shot, and, expecting a summons, he stood with 
his face near the hole ready to answer. The stillness 
that succeeded was at length broken by the voice of Muir. 

“Master Pathfinder,” called out the Scotchman, “a 
friend summons you to a parley. Come freely to one of 
the loops, for you’ve nothing to fear so long as you are in 
converse with an officer of the 55th.” 

“ What is your will, quartermaster, what is your will ? 
I know the 55th, and believe it to be a brave regiment, 
though I rather incline to the 60th as my favorite, and 
to the Delawares more than either. But what would you 
have, quartermaster ? It must be a pressing errand that 
brings you under the loops of a block-house at this hour 
of the night, with the sartainty of Killdeer’s being inside 
of it.” 

“Oh ! you’ll no harm a friend, Pathfinder, I’m certain, 
and that’s my security. You’re a man of judgment, and 
have gained too great a name on this frontier for bravery, 
to feel the necessity of foolhardiness to obtain a, character. 
You’B well understand, my good friend, there is as 


THE PATHFINDER. 


393 


much creuit to be gained by submitting gracefully, when 
resistance becomes impossible, as by obstinately holding 
out contrary to the rules of war. The enemy is too 
strong for us, my brave comrade, and I come to counsel 
you to give up the block, on condition of being treated 
as a prisoner of war.” 

“ I thank you for this advice, quartermaster, which is 
the more acceptable as it costs nothing. But I do not 
think it belongs to my gifts to yield a place like this, 
wh le food and water last.” 

“ Well, I’d be the last, Pathfinder, to recommend any- 
thing against so brave a resolution, did I see the means 
of maintaining it. But ye’ll remember that Master Cap 
has fallen ” 

“Not he — not he,” roared the individual in question, 
through another loop — “ so far from that, lieutenant, he 
has risen to the height of this here fortification, and has 
no mind to put his head of hair into the hands of such 
barbers again, so long as he can help it. I look upon this 
block-house as a circumstance, and have no mind to throw 
it away.” 

“ If that is a living voice,” returned Muir, “ I am glad 
to hear it, for we all thought the man had fallen in the 
late fearful confusion ! But, Master Pathfinder, although 
ye’re enjoying the society of your friend Cap, and a great 
pleasure do I know it to be by the experience of two days 
and a night passed in a hole in the earth, we’ve lost that 
of Sergeant Dunham, who has fallen, with all the brave 
men he led in the late expedition. Lundie would have it 
so, though it would have been more discreet and becom- 
ing to send a commissioned officer in command. Dunham 
was a brave man notwithstanding, and shall have justice 
done his memory. In short, we have all acted for the 
best, and that is as much as could be said in favor of 
Prince Eugene, the Duke of Marlborough, or the great 
Earl of Stair himself.” 

“ You’re wrong ag’in, quartermaster, you’re wrong 
ag’in,” answered Pathfinder, resorting to a ruse to 
magnify his force. “ The sergeant is safe in the block 
too, where one might say the whole family is collected.” 

“Well, I rejoice to hear it, for we had certainly counted 
the sergeant among the slain. If pretty Mabel is in the 


394 


THE PATHFINDER. 


block still, let her not delay an instant, for Heaven s sake, 
in quitting it, for the enemy is about to put it to trial by 
fire. Ye know the potency of that dread element, and 
will be acting more like the discreet and experienced 
warrior ye’re universally allowed to be, in yielding a place 
you canna’ defend, than in drawing down ruin on yourself 
and companions.” 

“ I know the potency of fire, as you call it, quarter- 
master, and am not to be told, at this late hour, that it 
can be used for something else besides cooking a dinner. 
But I make no doubt you’ve heard of the potency of 
Killdeer, and the man who attempts to lay a pile of brush 
agin’ these logs will get a taste of his powder. As for 
arrows, it is not in their gifts to set this building on fire, 
for we’ve no shingles on our roof, but good solid logs and 
green bark, and plenty of water besides. The roof is so 
flat, too, as you know yourself, quartermaster, that we 
can walk on it, and so no danger on that score while water 
lasts. I’m peaceable enough if let alone, but he who 
endivers to burn this block over my head will find the fire 
squinched in his own blood.” 

“ This is idle and romantic talk, Pathfinder, and ye’ll 
no maintain it yourself when ye come to meditate on the 
realities. I hope ye’ll no gainsay the loyalty or the 
courage of the 55th, and I feel convinced that a council 
of war would decide on the propriety of a surrender 
forthwith. Na’ — na’ — Pathfinder, foolhardiness is na’ 
mair like the bravery of Wallace or Bruce, than Albany 
on the Hudson is like the old town of Edinbro’.” 

“ As each of us seems to have made up his mind, 
quartermaster, more words are useless. If the riptyles 
near you are disposed to set about their hellish job, let 
them begin at once. They can burn wood and I’ll burn 
powder. If I were an Injin at the stake, I suppose I 
could brag as well as the rest of them; but, my gifts and 
natur’ being both white, my turn is rather for doing than 
talking. You’ve said quite enough, considering you 
carry the king’s commission; and, should we all be con- 
sumed, none of us will bear you any malice.” 

“ Pathfinder, you’ll no be exposing Mabel, pretty Mabel 
Punham, to sic’ a calamity ! ” 

“ Mabel Dunham is by the side of her wounded ^ther, 


THE PATHFINDER. 


395 


and God will care for the safety of a pious child. Not a 
hair of her head shall fall while my arm and sight remain 
true; and though you may trust the Mingoes, Master 
Muir, I put no faith in them. You’ve a knavish Tuscarora 
in your company there, who has art and malice enough to 
spoil the character of any tribe with which he consorts, 
though he found the Mingoes ready ruined to his hands, I 
fear. But, enough said ; let each party go to the use of his 
means and gifts.” 

Throughout this dialogue Pathfinder kept his body 
covered, lest a treacherous shot should be aimed at the 
loop; and he now directed Cap to ascend to the roof in 
order to be in readiness to meet the first assault. Although 
the latter used sufficient diligence, he found no less than 
ten blazing arrows sticking to the bark, while the air was 
filled with the yells and whoops of the enemy. A rapid 
discharge of rifles followed, and the bullets came patter- 
ing against the logs in a way to show that the struggle 
had indeed seriously commenced. 

These were sounds, however, that appalled neither 
Pathfinder nor Cap, while Mabel was too much absorbed 
in her affliction to feel alarm. She had good sense enough, 
too, to understand the nature of the defences, and fully 
to appreciate their importance. As for her father, the 
familiar noises revived him, and it pained his child, at 
such a moment, to see that his glassy eye began to 
kindle, and that the blood returned to a cheek it had 
deserted, as he listened to the uproar. It was now Mabel 
first perceived that his reason began slightly to wander. 

“Order up the light companies,” he muttered, “and 
let the grenadiers charge ! Do they dare to attack us in 
our fort ? Why does not the artillery open on them ? ” 

At that instant, the heavy report of a gun burst out on 
the night, and the crashing of rending wood was heard, as 
a heavy shot tore the logs in the room above and the 
whole block shook with the force of a shell that lodged 
in the work. Pathfinder narrowly escaped the passage of 
this formidable missile, as it entered; but when it ex- 
ploded Mabel could not suppress a shriek; for she sup- 
posed all over her head, whether animate or inanimate, 
destroyed. To increase her horror, her father shouted 
in a frantic voice, to “ charge ! ” 


39 & 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Mabel, v * said Pathfinder, with his head at the trap, 
“this is true Mingo work — -more noise than injury. The 
vagabonds have got the howitzer we took from the French, 
and have discharged it ag’in the block; but, fortunately, 
they have fired off the only shell we had, and there is an 
end of its use for the present. There is some confusion 
among the stores up in this loft, but no one is hurt. Your 
uncle is still on the roof, and as for myself I’ve run the 
gauntlet of too many rifles to be skeary about such a thing 
as a howitzer, and that in In jin hands.” 

Mabel murmured her thanks, and tried to give all her 
attention to her father, whose efforts to rise were only 
counteracted by his debility. During the fearful minutes 
that succeeded she was so much occupied with the care 
of the invalid that she scarce heeded the clamor that 
reigned around her. Indeed, the uproar was so great 
that, had not her thoughts been otherwise employed, con- 
fusion of faculties rather than alarm would probably 
have been the consequence. 

Cap preserved his coolness admirably. He had a pro- 
found and increasing respect for the power of the savages, 
and even for the majesty of fresh water, it is true; but 
his apprehensions of the former proceeded more from his 
dread of being scalped and tortured than from any un- 
manly fear of death; and as he was now on the deck of a 
house, if not on the deck of a ship, and he knew that there 
was little danger of boarders, he moved about with a 
fearlessness and a rash exposure of his person that Path- 
finder, had he been aware of the fact, would have been 
the first to condemn. Instead of keeping his body 
covered, agreeably to the usages of Indian warfare, he 
was seen on every part of the roof dashing the water right 
and left, with the apparent steadiness and unconcern he 
would have manifested had he been a sail-trimmer exercis- 
ing his art in a battle afloat. His appearance was one of 
the causes of the extraordinary clamor among the assail- 
ants, who, unused to see their enemies so reckless, opened 
upon him with their tongues like the pack that has the 
fox in view. Still he appeared to possess a charmed life; 
for, though the bullets whistled around him on every side 
and his Clothes were several times torn, nothing cut his 
skin. When the shell passed through the logs below, the 


THE PATHFINDER. 


397 


old sailor dropped his bucket, waved his hat, and gave 
three cheers; in which heroic act he was employed as the 
dangerous missile exploded. This characteristic feat 
probably saved his life; for from that instant the Indians 
ceased to fire at him, and even to shoot their flaming 
arrows at the block — having taken up the notion simulta- 
neously, and by common consent, that the “ Saltwater 
was mad ; ” and it was a singular effect of their magna- 
nimity, never to lift a hand against those whom they imag- 
ined devoid of reason. 

The conduct of Pathfinder was very different. Every- 
thing he did was regulated by the most exact calculation 
— the result of long experience and habitual thoughtful- 
ness. His person was kept carefully out of a line with the 
loops, and the spot that he selected for his lookout was 
one that was quite removed from danger. This celebrated 
guide had often been known to lead forlorn hopes; he 
had once stood at the stake, suffering under the cruelties 
and taunts of savage ingenuity and savage ferocity, with- 
out quailing; and legends of his exploits, coolness, and 
daring were to be heard all along that extensive frontier, 
or wherever men dwelt and men contended. But on this 
occasion one who did not know his history and character 
might have thought his exceeding care and studied atten- 
tion to self-preservation proceeded from an unworthy 
motive. But such a judge would not have understood 
his subject. The Pathfinder bethought him of Mabel, 
and of what might possibly be the consequences to that 
poor girl should any casualty befall himself. But the 
recollection rather quickened his intellect than changed 
his customary prudence. He was, in fact, one of those 
who was so unaccustomed to fear that he never bethought 
him of the construction others might put upon his conduct. 
But while in moments of danger he acted with the wisdom 
of the serpent, it was also with the simplicity of a child. 

For the first ten minutes of the assault Pathfinder never 
raised the breech of his rifle from the floor, except when 
he changed his own position, for he well knew that the 
bullets of the enemy were thrown away upon the massive 
logs of the work; and as he had been at the capture of 
the howitzer, he felt certain that the savages had no other 
shell than the one found in it when the piece was taken. 


398 the pathfinder. 

There existed no reason, therefore, to dread the fire of 
the assailants, except as a casual bullet might find a 
passage through a loophole. One or two of these acci- 
dents did occur, but the balls entered at an angle that 
deprived them of all chance of doing any injury, so long 
as the Indians kept near the block, and if discharged from 
a distance there was scarcely the possibility of one in a 
hundred’s striking the apertures. But when Pathfinder 
heard the sound of moccasined feet and the rustling of 
brush at the foot of the building, he knew that the at- 
tempt to build a fire against the logs was about to be 
renewed. He now summoned Cap from the roof, where 
indeed all the danger had ceased, and directed him to 
stand in readiness with his water at a hole immediately 
over the spot assailed. 

One less trained than our hero would have been in a 
hurry to repel this dangerous attempt also, and might 
have resorted to his means prematurely; not so with 
Pathfinder. His aim was not only to extinguish the fire, 
about which he felt little apprehension, but to give the 
enemy a lesson that would render him wary during the 
remainder of the night. In order to effect the latter 
purpose, it became necessary to wait until the light of the 
intended conflagration should direct his aim, when he well 
knew that a very slight effort of his skill would suffice. 
The Iroquois were permitted to collect their heap of dried 
brush, to pile it against the block, to light it, and to 
return to their covers without molestation. All that 
Pathfinder would suffer Cap to do was to roll a barrel 
filled with water to the hole immediately over the spot, 
in readiness to be used at the proper instant. That 
moment, however, did not arrive, in his judgment, until 
the blaze illumined the surrounding 'bushes, and there 
had been time for his quick and practised eye to detect 
the forms of three or four lurking savages, who were 
watching the progress of the flames with the cool indiffer- 
ence of men accustomed to look on human misery with 
apathy. Then, indeed, he spoke. 

“ Are you ready, friend Cap ? ” he asked. “ The heat 
begins to strike through the crevices, and, although these 
green logs are not of the fiery natur’ of an ill-tempered 
man, they may be kindled into a blaze if one provokes 


THE PATHFINDER. 


399 


them too much. Are you ready with the barrel ? See 
that it has the right cut, and that none of the water is 
wasted.” 

“All ready,” answered Cap, in the manner in which a 
seaman replies to such a demand. 

“ Then wait for the word. Never be over-impatient in 
a critical time, nor fool-risky in a battle. Wait for the 
word.” 

While the Pathfinder was giving these directions, he 
was also making his own preparations, for he saw it was 
time to act. Killdeer was deliberately raised, pointed, 
and discharged. The whole process occupied about half 
a minute, and as the rifle was drawn in, the eye of the 
marksman was applied to the hole. 

“There is one riptyle the less,” Pathfinder muttered 
to himself ; “I’ve seen that vagabond afore, and know 
him to be a marciless devil. Well, well, the man acted 
according to his gifts, and he has been rewarded accord- 
ing to his gifts. One more of the knaves and that will 
sarve the turn for to-night. When daylight appears we 
may have hotter work.” 

All this time another rifle was getting ready, and as 
Pathfinder ceased a second savage fell. This indeed 
sufficed, for, indisposed to wait for a third visitation from 
the same hand, the whole band, which had been crouch- 
ing in the bushes around the block, ignorant of who was 
and who was not exposed to view, leaped from their covers 
and fled to different places for safety. 

“Now pour away, Master Cap,” said Pathfinder. 
“ I’ve made my marks on the blackguards, and we shall 
have no more fires lighted to-night.” 

“ Scaldings ! ” cried Cap, upsetting the barrel with a 
care that at once and completely extinguished the flames. 

This ended the singular conflict; and the remainder of 
the night passed in peace. Pathfinder and Cap watched 
alternately, though neither can be said to have slept. 
Sleep, indeed, scarcely seemed necessary to them, for 
both were accustomed to protracted watchings; and there 
were seasons and times when the former appeared to be 
literally insensible to the demands of hunger and thirst 
and callous to the effects of fatigue. 

Mabel watched by her father’s pallet, and begran to 


400 


:he pathfinder. 


feel how much our happiness, in this world, depenas even 
on things that are imaginary. Hitherto she had virtually 
lived without a father, the connection with her remaining 
parent being ideal rather than positive; but, now that 
she was about to lose him, she thought for the moment 
that the world would be a void after his death, and that 
she could never be acquainted with happiness again. 


CHAPTER XXV. 

There was a roaring in the wind all night ; 

The rain came heavily, and fell in floods : 

But now the sun is rising calm and bright : 

The birds are singing in the distant woods.” 

— Wordsworth. 

As the light returned, Pathfinder and Cap ascended 
again to the roof, with a view once more to reconnoitre 
the state of things on the island. This part of the block- 
house had a low battlement around it, which afforded a 
considerable protection to those who stood in its centre; 
the intention having been to enable marksmen to lie behind 
it and to fire over its top. By making proper use, there- 
fore, of these slight defences — slight as to height, but 
abundantly ample as far as they went — the two lookouts 
commanded a pretty good view of the island, its covers 
excepted and of most of the channels that led to the spot. 

The gale was still blowing very fresh at south, and 
there were places in the river where its surface looked 
green and angry, though the wind had hardly sweep enough 
to raise the water into foam. The shape of the little isl- 
and was generally oval and its greatest length was from 
east to west. By keeping in the channels that washed it, 
in consequence of their several courses and of the direc- 
tion of the gale it would have been possible for a vessel 
to range past the island on either of its principal sides, 
and always to keep the wind very nearly abeam. These 
were the facts first noticed by Cap, and explained to his 
companion; for the hopes of both now rested on the 
chances of relief sent from Oswego. At thB *rstant ? 


THE PATHFINDER. 


.OI 


while they stood gazing anxiously about them, Cap cried 
out in his lusty, hearty manner: 

“ Sail, ho ! ” 

Pathfinder turned quickly in the direction of his com- 
panion’s face, and there, sure enough, was just visible the 
object of the old sailor’s exclamation. The elevation en- 
abled the two to overlook the low land of several of the 
adjacent islands; and the canvas of a vessel was seen 
through the bushes that fringed the shore of one that lay 
to the southward and westward. The stranger was under 
what seamen call low sail ; but so great was the power of 
the wind that her white outlines were seen flying past the 
openings of the verdure with the velocity of a fast-travel- 
ling horse, resembling a cloud driving in the heavens. 

“That cannot be Jasper!” said Pathfinder, in disap- 
pointment; for he did not recognize the cutter of his 
friend in the swift passing object. “No — no — the lad is 
behind the hour; that is some craft that the Frenchers 
have sent to aid their friends, the accursed Mingoes. ” 

“ This time you are out of your reckoning, friend Path- 
finder, if you never were before,” returned Cap, in a man- 
ner that had lost none of its dogmatism by the critical 
circumstances in which they were placed. “Fresh water 
or salt, that is the head of the Scud's mainsail, for it is 
cut with a smaller gore than common; and then you can 
see that the gaff has been fished — quite neatly done, I 
admit, but fished.” 

“I can see none of this, I confess,” answered Path- 
finder, to whom even the terms of his companion were 
Greek. 

“No! Well, I own that surprises me; for I thought 
your eyes could see anything! Now, to me nothing is 
plainer than that gore and that fish; and I must say, my 
honest friend, that in your place I should apprehend 
that my sight was beginning to fail.” 

“ If Jasper is truly coming, I shall apprehend but little. 
We can make good the block against the whole Mingo 
nation for the next eight or ten hours; and with Eau- 
douce to cover the retreat I shall despair of nothing. 
God send that the lad may not run alongside of the bank, 
and fall into an ambushment, as befell the sergeant! ” 

“ Ay ; there’s the danger. There ought to have been sig- 


402 


THE PATHFINDER. 


nals concerted, and an anchorage ground buoyeu uut, and 
even a quarantine station, or a lazaretto, would have been 
useful, could we have made these Minks-ho respect the 
laws. If the lad fetches up, as you say, anywhere in the 
neighborhood of this island, we may look upon the cutter 
as lost. And after all, Master Pathfinder, ought we not 
to set down this same jasper as a secret ally of the French, 
rather than as a friend of our own? I know the sergeant 
views the matter in that light, and I must say this whole 
affair looks like treason.” 

“We shall soon know, we shall soon know, Master Cap, 
for there indeed comes the cutter, clear of the other 
island, and five minutes must settle the matter. It would 
be no more than fair, however, if we could give the boy 
some sign in the way of warning. It is not right that he 
should fall into the trap, without a notice that it has been 
laid.” 

Anxiety and suspense, notwithstanding, prevented either 
from attempting to make any signal. It was not easy, 
truly, to see how it could be done; for the Scud came 
foaming through the channel, on the weather side of the 
inland, at a rate that scarce admitted of the necessary 
titqe. Nor was any one visible on her deck to make signs 
to; even her helm seemed deserted, though her course was 
as steady as her progress was rapid. 

Cap stood in silent admiration of a spectacle so unusual. 
But, as the Scud drew nearer, his practised eye detected 
the helm in play by means of tiller-ropes, though the 
person who steered was concealed. As the cutter had 
weather-boards of some little height, the mystery was ex- 
plained; no doubt remaining that her people lay behind 
the latter in order to be protected from the rifles of the 
enemy. As this fact showed that no force, beyond that of 
the small crew, could be on board, Pathfinder received 
his companion’s explanation with an ominous shake of the 
head. 

“ This proves that the Sarpent has not reached Oswego,” 
he said, “ and that we are not to expect succor from the 
garrison. I hope Lundie has not taken it into his head 
to displace the lad, for Jasper Western would be a host of 
himself, in such a strait. We three, Master Cap, ought 
to make a manful warfare — you as a seaman* to 1 -eo up 


THE PATHFINDER. 


4°3 


the intercourse with the cutter, Jasper as a laker, who 
knows all that is necessary to be done on the water, and 
I with gifts that are as good as any among the Mingoes, 
let me be what I may in other particulars. I say we ought 
to make a manful fight in Mabel’s behalf.” 

“ That we ought — and that we will,” answered Cap 
heartily, for he began to have more confidence in the se- 
curity of his scalp, now that he saw the sun again; “I 
set down the arrival of the Scud as one circumstance, and 
the chances of Eau-douce’s honesty as another. This 
Jasper is a young man of prudence, you find, for he keeps 
a good offing, and seems determined to know how matters 
stand on the island before he ventures to bring up.” 

“ I have it — I have it!” exclaimed Pathfinder with ex- 
ultation; “there lies the canoe of the Sarpent on the cut- 
ter’s deck, and the chief has got on board, and no doubt 
has given a true account of our condition; unlike a Mingo, 
a Delaware is sartain to get a story right or to hold his 
tongue.” 

Pathfinder’s disposition to think well of the Delawares 
and to think ill of the Mingoes must, by this time, be 
very apparent to the reader. Of the veracity of the former 
he entertained the highest respect, while of the latter he 
thought as the more observant and intelligent classes of 
this country are getting pretty generally to think of certain 
scribblers among ourselves, who are known to have been 
so long in the habits of mendacity that it is thought they 
can no longer tell the truth, even when they seriously 
make the effort. 

“That canoe may belong to the cutter,” said the cap- 
tious seaman; “ Oh !-the-Deuce had one on board when 
we sailed.” 

“Very true, friend Cap; but if you know your sails and 
masts by your gores and fishes, I know my canoes and 
my paths by frontier knowledge. If you can see new 
cloth in a sail, I can see new bark in a canoe. That is 
the boat of the Sarpent, and the noble fellow has struck 
off for the garrison as soon as he found the block be- 
sieged, has fallen in with the Scud, and after telling his 
story has brought the cutter down here to see what can 
be done. The Lord grant that Jasper Western be still on 
board her. ” 


404 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Yes — yes — it might not be amiss; for, traitor or loyal, 
the lad has a handy way with him in a gale, it must be 
owned.” 

“And in coming over waterfalls!” said Pathfinder, 
nudging the ribs of his companion with an elbow, and 
laughing in his silent manner. “We will give the boy his 
due, though he scalps us all with his own hand.” 

The Scud was now so near that Cap made no reply. 
The scene just at that instant was so peculiar that it 
merits a particular description; which may also aid the 
reader in forming a more accurate idea of the picture we 
wish to draw. 

The gale was still blowing violently; many of the smaller 
trees bowed their tops, as if ready to descend to the earth, 
while the rushing of the wind through the branches of the 
groves resembled the roar of distant chariots. 

The air was filled with leaves which, at that late season, 
were readily driven from their stems, and flew from island 
to island like flights of birds. With this exception, the 
spot seemed silent as the grave. That the savages still 
remained was to be inferred from the fact that their 
canoes, together with the boats of the 55th, lay in a group 
in the little cove that had been selected as a harbor. 
Otherwise not a sign of their presence was to be detected. 
Though taken entirely by surprise by the cutter, the sud- 
den return of which was altogether unlooked for, so uni- 
form and inbred were their habits of caution while on the 
warpath, that the instant an alarm was given every man 
had taken to his cover, with the instinct and cunning of 
a fox seeking his hole. The same stillness reigned in the 
block-house, for, though Pathfinder and Cap could com- 
mand a view of the channel, they took the precaution 
necessary to lie concealed. The unusual absence of any- 
thing like animal life on board the Scud, too, was still 
more remarkable. As the Indians witnessed her appar- 
ently undirected movements, a feeling of awe gained a 
footing among them, and some of the boldest of their 
party began to distrust the issue of an expedition that had 
commenced so prosperously. Even Arrowhead, accus- 
tomed as he was to intercourse with the whites on both 
sides of the lakes, fancied there was something ominous 
in the appearance of this unmanned vessel, and he would 


THE PATHFINDER. 


405 

gladly at that moment have been landed again on the 
main. 

In the mean time the progress of the cutter was steady 
and rapid. She held her way mid-channel, now inclining 
to the gusts, and now rising again, like the philosopher 
that bends to the calamities of life to resume his erect 
attitude as they pass away, but always piling the water 
beneath her bows in foam. Although she was under so 
very short canvas, her velocity was great, and there could 
not have elapsed ten minutes between the time when her 
sails were first seen glancing past the trees and bushes in 
the distance; and the moment when she was abreast of the 
block-house Cap and Pathfinder leaned forward as the 
cutter came beneath their eyrie, eager to get a better view 
of her deck, when, to the delight of both, Jasper Eau- 
douce sprang upon his feet and gave three hearty cheers. 
Regardless of all risk, Cap leaped upon the rampart of 
logs, and returned the greeting, cheer for cheer. Hap- 
pily the policy of the enemy saved the latter, for they 
still lay quiet, not a rifle being discharged. On the other 
hand, Pathfinder kept in view the useful, utterly disre- 
garding the mere dramatic part of warfare. The moment 
he beheld his friend Jasper, he called out to him with 
stentorian lungs: 

“Stand by us, lad, and the day’s our own! Give ’m a 
grist in yonder bushes, and you’ll put ’m up like par- 
tridges.” 

Part of this reached Jasper’s ears, but most was borne 
off to leeward on .the wings of the wind. By the time 
this was said the Scud had driven past, and in the next 
moment she was hid from view by the grove in which the 
block-house was partially concealed. 

Two anxious minutes succeeded, but at the expiration 
of that brief space the sails were again gleaming through 
the trees, Jasper having wore, jibed, and hauled up under 
the lee of the island on the other tack. The wind was 
free enough, as has been already explained, to admit of 
this manoeuvre; and the cutter, catching the current under 
her lee bow, was breasted up to her course in a way that 
showed she would come out to windward of the island 
again without any difficulty. This whole evolution was 
made with the greatest facility, not a sheet being touched, 


4 o6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the sails trimming themselves, the rudder alone controlling 
the admirable machine. The object appeared to be a re- 
connoissance. When, however, the Scud had made the 
circuit of the entire island, and had again got her weatherly 
position in the channel by which she had first approached, 
her helm was put down, and she tacked. The noise of 
the mainsail flapping when it filled, close reefed as it was, 
sounded like the report of a gun, and Cap trembled lest 
the seams should open. 

“ His Majesty gives good canvas, it must be owned,” 
muttered the old seaman; “and it must be owned, too, 
that boy handles his boat as if he was thoroughly bred! 
D — e, Master Pathfinder, if I believe, after all that has 
been reported in the matter, that this Mister Oh!-the- 
Deuce got his trade on this bit of fresh water.” 

“ He did; yes, he did. He never saw the ocean, and 
has come by his calling altogether up here on Ontario. 
I have often thought he has a nat’ral gift, in the way of 
schooners and sloops, and have respected him accordingly. 
As for treason, and lying, and black-hearted vices, friend 
Cap, Jasper Western is as free as the most virtuousest of 
the Delaware warriors; and, if you crave to see a truly 
honest man, you must go among that tribe to discover 
him. ” 

“ There he comes round ! ” exclaimed the delighted Cap, 
the Scud at this moment filling on her original tack, “ and 
now we shall see what the boy would be at; he cannot 
mean to keep running up and down these passages like a 
girl footing it through a country-dance! ” 

The Scud now kept so much away, that for a moment 
the two observers on the block-house feared Jasper meant 
to come-to; and the savages in their lairs gleamed out 
upon her with the sort of exultation that the crouching 
tiger may be supposed to feel, as he sees his unconscious 
victim approach his bed. But Jasper had no such inten- 
tion. Familiar with the shore, and acquainted with the 
depth of water on every part of the island, he well knew 
that the Scud might be run against the bank with impunity, 
and he ventured fearlessly so near that, as he passed 
through the little cove, he swept the two boats of the sol- 
diers from their fastenings and forced them out into the 
channel, towing them with the cutter. As all the canoes 


THE PATHFINDER. 


4°7 


trdTc fastened to the two Dunham boats, by this bold and 
successful attempt the savages were at once deprived of 
the means of quitting the island, unless by swimming, and 
they appeared to be instantly aware of the very important 
fact. Rising in a body, they filled the air with yells, and 
poured in a harmless fire. While up in this unguarded 
manner two rifles were discharged by their adversaries. 
One came from the summit of the block, and an Iroquois 
fell dead in his tracks, shot through the brain. The other 
came from the Scud. The last was the piece of the Dela- 
ware, but, less true than that of his friend, it only maimed 
an enemy for life. The people of the Scud shouted, and 
the savages sank again, to a man, as if it might be into 
the earth. 

“That was the Serpent’s voice,” said the Pathfinder, as 
soon as the second piece was discharged. “ I know the 
crack of his rifle as well as I do that of Killdeer. ’Tis a 
good barrel, though not sartain death. Well — well — with 
Chingachgook and Jasper on the water, and you and I in 
the block, friend Cap, it will be hard if we don’t teach these 
Mingo scamps the rationality of a fight! ” 

All this time the Scud was in motion. As soon as she 
had reached the end of the island, Jasper sent his prizes 
adrift, and they went down before the wind until they 
stranded on a point more than a mile to leeward. He 
then wore, and came stemming the current again through 
the other passage. Those on the summit of the block 
could now perceive that something was in agitation on 
the deck of the Scudj and, to their great delight, just as 
the cutter came abreast of the principal cove, on the spot 
where most of the enemy lay, the howitzer which com- 
posed her sole armament was unmasked, and a shower of 
case-shot was sent hissing into the bushes. A bevy of 
quail would not have risen quicker than this unexpected 
discharge of iron hail put up the Iroquois; when a second 
savage fell by a messenger from Killdeer, and another 
went limping away by a visit from the rifle of Chingach- 
gook. New covers were immediately found, however; and 
each party seemed to prepare for the renewal of this strife 
in another form. But the appearance of June, bearing a 
white flag, and accompanied by the French officer and 
Muir, stayed the hands of all, and was the forerunner of 
anotb^ ^rley. 


408 


THE PATHFINDER. 


The negotiation that followed was held beneath the 
block-house, and so near it as at once to put those who 
were uncovered completely at the mercy of Pathfinder’s 
unerring aim. Jasper anchored directly abeam, and the 
howitzer, too, was kept trained upon the negotiators; so 
that the besieged and their friends, with the exception of 
the man who held the match, had no hesitation about ex- 
posing their persons. Chingachgook alone lay in am- 
bush; more, however, from habit than distrust. 

“You’ve triumphed, Pathfinder,” called out the quar- 
termaster, “ and Captain Sanglier has come himself to offer 
terms. You’!! no be denying a brave enemy an honor- 
able retreat, when he has fought ye fairly and done all 
the credit he could to king and country. You are too 
loyal a subject yourself to visit loyalty and fidelity with a 
heavy judgment. I am authorized to offer, on the part of 
the enemy, an evacuation of the island, a mutual exchange 
of prisoners, and a restoration of scalps. In the absence 
of baggage or artillery, little more can be done.” 

As the conversation was necessarily carried on in a high 
key, both on account of the wind and on account of the 
distance, all that was said was heard equally by those in 
the block and those in the cutter. 

“What do you say to that, Jasper?” called out Path- 
finder. “You hear the terms; shall we let the vagabonds 
go? or shall we mark them, as they mark their sheep in 
the settlements, that we may know them again?” 

“What has befallen Mabel Dunham?” demanded the 
young man, with a frown on his handsome face that was 
visible even to those in the block. “ If a hair of her head 
has been touched, it will go hard with the whole Iroquois 
tribe ! ” 

“ Nay, nay, she is safe below, nursing a dying parent 
as becomes her sex. We owe no grudge on account of 
the sergeant’s hurt, which comes of lawful warfare; and 
as for Mabel ” 

“She is here!” exclaimed the girl herself, who had 
mounted to the roof the moment she found the direction 
things were taking. “She is here; and, in the name of 
our holy religion, and of that God whom we profess to 
worship in common, let there be no bloodshed! Enough 
has spilt already; and if these men wiU ffo away f 


THE PATHFINDER. 


4C»> 

Pathfinder — if they will depart peaceably, Jasper — oh! do 
not detain one of them. My poor father is approaching 1 
his end, and it were better that he should draw his last 
breath in peace with the world. Go, go, Frenchmen and 
Indians; we are no longer your enemies, and will harm 
none of you.” 

“ Tut, tut, Magnet,” put in Cap, “ this sounds religious, 
perhaps, or like a book of poetry; but it does not sound 
like common sense. The enemy is just ready to strike; 
Jasper is anchored with his broadside to bear, and no 
doubt with springs on his cables; Pathfinder’s eye and 
hand are as true as the needle, and we shall get prize- 
money, head-money, and honor in the bargain, if you will 
not interfere for the next half-hour.” 

“Well,” said Pathfinder, “I incline to Mabel’s way of 
thinking. There has been enough bloodshed to answer 
our .purpose and to serve the king; and as for honor in 
that meaning, it will do better for young ensigns and re- 
cruits than for cool-headed, obsarvant, Christian men. 
There is honor in doing what’s right, and unhonor in do- 
ing what’s wrong; and I think it wrong to take the life 
even of a Mingo without a useful ind in view, I do ; and 
right to hear reason at all times. So, Lieutenant Muir, 
let us know what your friends the Frenchers and Injins 
have to say for themselves.” 

“ My friends! ” said Muir, starting. “ You’ll no be call- 
ing the king’s enemies my friends, Pathfinder, because the 
fortune of war has thrown me into their hands! Some of 
the greatest warriors, both of ancient and modern times, 
have been prisoners of war; and yon is Master Cap, who 
can testify whether we did not do all that men could de- 
vise to escape the calamity.” 

“Ay — ay/’ dryly answered Cap, “escape is the proper 
word. We ran below and hid ourselves, and so discreetly, 
that we might have remained in the hole to this hour, had 
it not been for the necessity of restowing the bread-lock- 
ers. You burrowed on that occasion, quartermaster, as 
handily as a fox; and how the d — 1 you knew so well 
where to find the spot is a matter of wonder to me. A. 
regular skulk on board ship does not trail aft more readily 
when the iib is to be stowed than you went into that same 
hole' v 


4fo 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ And did ye no follow? There are moments in a man’s 
life when reason ascends to instinct ” 

“And men descend into holes,” interrupted Cap, laugh- 
ing in his boisterous way, while Pathfinder chimed in his 
peculiar manner. Even Jasper, though still filled with 
concern for Mabel, was obliged to smile. “ They say the 
d — 1 wouldn’t make a sailor if he didn’t look aloft, and 
now it seems he’ll not make a soldier if he doesn’t look 
below ! ” 

This burst of merriment, though it was anything but 
agreeable to Muir, contributed largely toward keeping the 
peace. Cap fancied he had said a thing much better than 
common, and that disposed him to yield his own opinion 
on the main point, so long as he got the good opinions of 
his companions on his novel claim to be a wit. After a 
short discussion, all the savages on the island were col- 
lected in a body, without arms, at the distance of a hun- 
dred yards from the block and under the gun of the Scud, 
while Pathfinder descended to the door of the block-house 
and settled the terms on which the island was to be finally 
evacuated by the enemy. Considering all the circumstan- 
ces, the conditions were not very discreditable to either 
party. The Indians were compelled to give up all their 
arms, even to their knives and tomahawks, as a measure 
of precaution, their force being still quadruple that of 
their foes. The French officer, Monsieur Sanglier, as he 
iv’as usually styled, and chose to call himself, remonstrated 
against this act as one likely to reflect more discredit on 
his command than any other part of the affair; but Path- 
finder, who had witnessed one or two Indian massacres, 
and knew how valueless pledges became when put in op- 
position to interest where a savage was concerned, was 
obdurate. The second stipulation was of nearly the same 
importance. It compelled Captain Sanglier to give up all 
his prisoners, who had been kept well guarded in the very 
hole or cave in which Cap and Muir had taken refuge. 
When these men were produced, four of them were found 
to be unhurt; they had fallen merely to save their lives, 
a common artifice in that species of warfare; and of the 
remainder, two were so slightly injured as not to be unfit 
for service. As they brought their muskets with them, 
this addition to his force immediately put Pathfinder at 


THE PATHFINDER. 


his ease, for, having collected all the arms of the enemy 
in the block-house, he directed these men to take pos- 
session of the building, stationing a regular sentinel at 
the door. The remainder of the soldiers were dead, the 
badly wounded having been instantly dispatched in order 
to obtain the much-coveted scalps. 

As soon as Jasper was made acquainted with the terms, 
and the preliminaries had been so far observed as to ren- 
der it safe for him to be absent, he got the Scud under 
way and, running down to the point where the boats had 
stranded, he took them in tow again and, making a 
few stretches, brought them into the leeward passage. 
Here all the savages instantly embarked, when Jasper took 
the boats in tow a third time, and running off before the 
wind he soon set them adrift, quite a mile to leeward of 
the island. The Indians were furnished with but a single 
oar in each boat to steer with, the young sailor well 
knowing that by keeping before the wind they would 
land on the shores of Canada in the course of the morning. 

Captain Sanglier, Arrowhead, and June alone remained 
when the disposition had been made of the rest of the 
party; the first having certain papers to draw up and 
sign with Lieutenant Muir, who in his eyes possessed the 
virtues which are attached to a commission, and the second 
preferring, for reasons of his own, not to depart in com- 
pany with his late friends the Iroquois. Canoes were re- 
tained for the departure of these three when the proper 
moment should arrive. 

In the mean time, or while the Scud was running down 
with the boats in tow, Pathfinder and Cap, aided by proper 
assistants, busied themselves with preparing a breakfast, 
most of the party not having eaten for four-and-twenty 
hours. The brief space that passed in this manner, before 
the Scud came to again, was little interrupted by discourse, 
though Pathfinder found leisure to pay a visit to the ser- 
geant, to say a few friendly words to Mabel, and to give 
such directions as he thought might smooth the passage 
of the dying man. As for Mabel herself, he insisted on 
her taking some light refreshment, and, there no longer 
existing any motive for keeping it there, he had the guard 
removed from the block, in order that the daughter might 
iave no impediment to her attentions to her father. These 


412 


THE PATHFINDER. 


little arrangements completed, our hero returned to the 
fire, around which he found all the remainder of the party 
assembled, including Jasper. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 


“ You saw but sorrow in its waning form, 

A working sea remaining from a storm, 

Where now the weary waves roll o’er the deep, 

And faintly murmur ere they fall asleep.” — D ryden. 

Men accustomed to a warfare like that we have been 
describing are not apt to be much under the influence of 
the tender feelings while still in the field. Notwithstand- 
ing their habits, however, more than one heart was with 
Mabel in the block while the incidents we are about to 
relate were in the course of occurrence; and even the in- 
dispensable meal was less relished by the hardiest of the 
soldiers than it might have been had not the sergeant 
been so near his end. 

As Pathfinder returned from the block he was met by 
Muir, who led him aside in order to hold a private dis- 
course. The manner of the quartermaster had that air of 
supererogatory courtesy about it which almost invariably 
denotes artifice; for while physiognomy and phrenology 
are but lame sciences at the best, and perhaps lead to as 
many false as right conclusions, we hold that there is no 
more infallible evidence of insincerity of purpose, short of 
overt acts, than a face that smiles when there is no occa- 
sion, and the tongue that is out of measure smooth. Muir 
had much of this manner in common, mingled with an 
apparent frankness, that his Scottish intonation of voice, 
Scottish accent, and Scottish modes of expression were 
singularly adapted to sustain. He owed his preferment, 
indeed, to a long-exercised deference to Lundie and his 
family; for, while the major himself was much too acute 
to be the dupe of one so much his inferior in real talents 
and attainments, most persons are accustomed to make 
liberal concessions to the flatterer even while thev distrust 


THE PATHFINDER. 


413 


his truth and are perfectly aware of his motives. On the 
present occasion, the contest in skill was between two men 
as completely the opposite of each other, in all the leading 
essentials of character, as very well could be. Pathfinder 
was as simple as the quartermaster was practiced ; he was 
as sincere as the other was false, and as direct as the last 
was tortuous. Both were cool and calculating, and both 
were brave, though in different modes and degrees; Muir 
never exposing his person except for effect, while the guide 
included fear among the rational passions, or as a sensa- 
tion to be deferred to only when good might come of it. 

“ My dearest friend,” Muir commenced, “ for ye’ll be 
dearer to us all, by seventy and sevenfold, after your late 
conduct, than ever ye were, ye’ve just established your- 
self, in this late transaction! It’s true that they’ll no be 
making ye a commissioned officer, for that species of pre- 
fairment is not much in your line, nor much in your wishes, 
I’m thinking, but as a guide, and a counsellor, and a loyal 
subject, and an expert marksman, yer renown maybe said 
to be full. I doubt if the commander-in-chief will carry 
away with him from America as much credit as will fall 
to yer share, and ye ought just to sit down in content and 
enjoy yourself for the remainder of your days. Get mar- 
ried, man, without delay, and look to yer precious happi- 
ness, for ye’ve no occasion to look any longer to your 
glory. Take Mabel Dunham, for Heaven’s sake, to your 
bosom, and ye’ll have both a bonny bride and a bonny rep- 
utation.” 

“Why, quartermaster, this is a new piece of advice to 
come from your mouth! They’ve told me I had a rival 
in you! ” 

“And ye had, man; and a formidable one, too, I can 
tell ye! One that has never yet courted in vain, and yet 
on that has courted five times. Lundie twits me with four, 
and I deny the charge; but he little thinks the truth 
would outdo even his arithmetic! Yes, yes; ye had a 
rival, Pathfinder, but ye’ve one no longer in me. Ye’ve 
my hearty wishes for yer success with Mabel, and were the 
honest sergeant likely to survive, ye might rely on my 
good word with him, too, for a certainty.” 

“ I feel your friendship, quartermaster, I feel your friend- 
ship, though I have no great need of any favor with Ser- 


414 


THE PATHFINDER, 


geant Dunham, who has long been my friend: I believe 
we may look upon the matter to be as sartain as most 
things in war time; for, Mabel and her father consent- 
ing, the whole 55th couldn’t very well put a stop to it. 
Ah’s me! the poor father will scarcely live to see what his 
heart has so long been set upon! ” 

“But he’ll have the consolation of knowing it will come 
to pass, in dying. Oh, it’s a great relief, Pathfinder, for 
the parting spirit to feel certain that the beloved ones 
left behind will be well provided for, after its departure. 
All the Mistress Muirs have duly expressed that senti- 
ment, with their dying breaths.” 

“ All your wives, quartermaster, have been likely to feel 
this consolation! ” 

“Out upon ye, man — I’d no thought ye such a wag! 
Well, well; pleasant words make no heart-burnings be- 
tween auld friends. If I cannot espouse Mabel, ye’ll no 
object to my esteeming her, and speaking well of her, and 
of yoursel’, too, on all suitable occasions, and in all com- 
panies. But, Pathfinder, ye’ll easily understan’ that a 
poor deevil, who loses such a bride, will probably stand in 
need of some consolation.” 

“Quite likely — quite likely, quartermaster,” returned 
the simple-minded guide; “I know the loss of Mabel 
would be very heavy to be borne by myself. It may bear 
hard on your feelings to see us married, but the death of 
the sergeant will be likely to put it off, and you’ll have 
time to think more manfully of it, you will.” 

“I’ll bear up against it; yes, I’ll bear up against it, 
though my heart-strings crack; and ye might help me, 
man, by giving me something to do. Ye’ll understand 
that this expedition has been of a very peculiar nature, 
for here am I, bearing the king’s commission, just a vol- 
unteer, as it might be; while a mere orderly has had the 
command. I’ve submitted for various reasons, though 
my blood has boiled to be in authority while ye war’ bat- 
tling for the honor of the country and his majesty's 
eights ” 

“Quartermaster,” interrupted the guide, “you fell so 
early into the inemy’s hands, that your conscience ought 
to be easily satisfied on that score; so take my advice, and 
say nothing about it.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


4**3 


“ That’s just my opinion, Pathfinder; we’ll all say noth- 
ing about it. Sergeant Dunham is hors de combat ” 

“ Anan! ” said the guide. 

“ Why, the sergeant can command no longer, and it will 
hardly do to leave a corporal at the head of a victorious 
party like this; for flowers that will bloom in a garden 
will die on a hearth; and I was just thinking I would 
claim the authority that belongs to one who holds a lieu- 
tenant’s commission. As for the men, they’ll no dare to 
raise any objaction, and as for yoursel’, my dear friend, 
now that ye’ve so much honor, and Mabel, and the con- 
sciousness of having done yer duty, which is more pre- 
cious than all, I expect to find an ally rather than one to 
oppose the plan.” 

“ As for commanding the soldiers of the 55th, lieuten- 
ant, it is your right, I suppose, and no one here will be 
likely to gainsay it; though you’ve been a prisoner of war, 
and there are men who might stand out agin’ giving up 
their authority to a prisoner released by their own deeds. 
Still, no one here will be likely to say anything hostile to 
your wishes.” 

“That’s just it, Pathfinder, and when I come to draw 
up the report of our success against the boats and the de- 
fence of the block, together with the general operations, 
including the capitulation, ye’ll no find any omission of 
your claims and merits.” 

“Tut, for my claims and merits, quartermaster! Lun- 
die knows what I am in the forest, and what I am in the 
fort; and the general knows better than he. No fear of 
me; tell your own story, only taking care to do justice 
by Mabel’s father, who, in one sense, is the commanding 
officer at this very moment.” 

Muir expressed his entire satisfaction at this arrange- 
ment, as well as his determination to do justice by all, 
when the two went to the group that was assembled round 
the fire. Here the quartermaster began, for the first time 
since leaving Oswego, to assume some of the authority 
that might properly be supposed to belong to his rank. 
Taking the remaining corporal aside, he distinctly told 
that functionary that he must in future be regarded as one 
holding the king’s commission, and directed him to ac- 
quaint his subordinates with the new state of things. This 


THE PATHFINDER. 


416 

change in the dynasty was effected without any of the 
usual symptoms of a revolution; for, as all well under- 
stood the lieutenant’s legal claims to command, no one 
felt disposed to dispute his orders. For reasons best known 
to themselves, Lundie and the quartermaster had origi- 
nally made a different disposition, and now, for reasons of 
his own, the latter had seen fit to change it. This was 
reasoning enough for soldiers, though the hurt received 
by Sergeant Dunham would have sufficiently explained 
the circumstance had an explanation been required. 

All this time Captain Sanglier was looking after his 
own breakfast with the resignation of a philosopher, the 
coolness of a veteran, the ingenuity and science of a French- 
man, and the voracity of an ostrich. This person had 
now been in the colony some thirty years, having left 
France in some such situation in his own army as Muir 
filled in the 55th. An iron constitution, perfect obduracy 
of feeling, a certain address well suited to manage savages, 
and an indomitable courage, had early pointed him out to 
the commander-in-chief as a suitable agent to be employed 
in directing the military operations of his Indian allies. 
In this capacity, then, he had risen to the titular rank 
of captain; and with his promotion had acquired a por- 
tion of the habits and opinions of his associates, with a 
facility and an adaptation of self that are thought, in this 
part of the world, to be peculiar to his countrymen. He 
had often led parties of the Iroquois in their predatory 
expeditions, and his conduct on such occasions exhibited 
the contradictory results of both alleviating the misery 
produced by this species of warfare, and of augmenting it 
by the broader views and greater resources of civilization. 
In other words, he planned enterprises that in their impor- 
tance and consequences much exceeded the usual policy 
of the Indians, and then stepped in to lessen some of the 
evils of his own creating. In short, he was an adventurer 
whom circumstances had thrown into a situation where 
the callous qualities of men of his class might really show 
themselves for good or for evil; and he was not of a 
character to baffle fortune by any ill-timed squeamishness 
on the score of early impressions, or to trifle with her 
liberality by unnecessarily provoking her frowns through 
wanton cruelty. Still, as his name was unavoidably con- 


THE PATHFINDER. 


417 


nectetfwitft many of the excesses committed by his parties 
he was generally considered, in the American Provinces, 
a wretch who delighted in bloodshed, and who found his 
greatest happiness in tormenting the helpless and the in- 
nocent; and the name of Sanglier, which was a sobriquet 
of his own adopting, or of Flint Heart, as he was usually 
termed on the borders, had got to be as terrible to the 
women and children of that part of the country as those 
of Butler and Brandt became at a later day. 

The meeting between Pathfinder and Sanglier bore 
some resemblance to that celebrated interview between 
Wellington and Blucher, which has been so often and 
graphically told. It took place at the fire; and the par- 
ties stood earnestly regarding each other for more than a 
minute without speaking. Each felt that in the other he 
saw a formidable foe; and each felt, while he ought to 
treat the other with the manly liberality due to a warrior, 
that there was little in common between them in the way 
of character, as well as of interests. One served for 
money and preferment; the other, because his life had 
been cast in the wilderness, and the land of his birth 
needed his arm and experience. The desire of rising 
above his present situation never disturbed the tranquillity 
of Pathfinder ; nor had he ever known an ambitious thought, 
as ambition usually betrays itself, until he became ac- 
quainted with Mabel. Since then, indeed, distrust of 
himself, reverence for her, and the wish to place her in a 
situation above that which he then filled had caused him 
some uneasy moments, but the directness and simplicity 
of his character had early afforded the required relief ; 
and he soon came to feel that the woman who would not 
hesitate to accept him for her husband would not scruple 
to share his fortunes, however humble. He respected 
Sanglier as a brave warrior; and he had far too much 
of that liberality which is the result of practical knowl- 
edge to believe half of what he had heard to his preju- 
dice; for the most bigoted and illiberal on every subject 
are usually those who know nothing about it; but he 
could not approve of his selfishness, cold-blooded calcu- 
lations, and, least of all, of the manner in which he forgot 
his “white gifts,” to adopt those that were purely “red.” 
On the other hand, Pathfinder was a riddle to Captain 
2% 


THE PATHFINDER. 


418 

Sanglier. The latter could not comprehend tn~ other's 
motives; he had often heard of his disinterestedness, jus- 
tice, and truth; and, in several instances, they had led 
him into grave errors, on that principle by which a frank 
and open-mouthed diplomatist is said to keep his secrets 
better than one that is close-mouthed and wily. 

After the two heroes had gazed at each other in the 
manner mentioned, Monsieur Sanglier touched his cap; 
for the rudeness of a border life had not entirely destroyed 
the courtesy of manner he had acquired in youth, nor ex- 
tinguished that appearance of botihomie which seems inbred 
in a Frenchman. 

“Monsieur le Pathfindair,” he said, with a very decided 
accent, though with a friendly smile, “ un militaire honor 
ie courage et la loyaute . You speak Iroquois ? ” 

“Ay, I understand the language of the riptyles, and 
can get along with it, if there’s occasion,” returned the 
literal and truth-telling guide; “but it’s neither a tongue 
nor a tribe to my taste. Wherever you find the Mingo 
blood, in my opinion, Master Flinty-heart, you find a 
knave. Well, I’ve seen you often, though it was in bat- 
tle; and, I must say, it was always in the van. You 
must know most of our bullets by sight?” 

“Nevvair, sair, your own; une balle from your honor- 
able hand be sartaine deat’. You kill my best warrior on 
some island.” 

“ That may be — that may be — though I dare say, if the 
truth was known, they would turn out to be great rascals. 
No offence to you, Master Flinty-heart, but you keep 
desperate evil company.” 

“ Yes, sair,” returned the Frenchman, who, bent on say- 
ing that which was courteous himself, and comprehending 
with difficulty, was disposed to think he received a com- 
pliment — “ you too good. But, un brave always comme fa. 
What that mean — ha! — what that jeune homme do? ” 

The hand and eye of Captain Sanglier directed the look 
of Pathfinder to the opposite side of the fire, where 
Jasper, just at that moment, had been rudely seized by 
two of the soldiers, who were binding his arms under the 
direction of Muir. 

“ What does that mean, indeed? ” cried the guide, step- 
ping forward, and shoving the two subordinates away with 


THE PATHFINDER. 


419 


a power of muscle that would not be denied. “ Who has 
the heart to do this to Jasper Eau-douce; and who has 
the boldness to do it before my eyes? ” 

“It is by my orders, Pathfinder,” answered the quar- 
termaster; “and I command it on my own responsibility. 
Ye’ll no tak’ on yourself to dispute the legality of orders 
given by one who bears the king’s commission to the 
king’s soldiers? ” 

“I’d dispute the king’s words if they came from the 
king’s own mouth, did they say that Jasper desarves this. 
Has not the lad just saved all our scalps? — taken us from 
defeat, and given us victory? No, no, lieutenant; if 
this is the first use that you make of your authority, I for 
one will not respect it.” 

“This savors a little of insubordination,” answered 
Muir; “but we can bear much from Pathfinder. It is 
true this Jasper has seemed to serve us in this affair; but 
we ought not to overlook past transactions. Did not 
Major Duncan himself denounce him to Sergeant Dunham, 
before we left the post? Have we not seen sufficient with 
our own eyes to make sure of having been betrayed? 
And is it not natural and almost necessary to believe 
that this young man has been the traitor? Ah! Path- 
finder, ye’ll no be makin’ yourself a great statesman or a 
great captain, if you put too much faith in appearances. 
Lord bless me — Lord bless me! if I do not believe, could 
the truth be come at, as you often say yourself, Path- 
finder, that hypocrisy is a more common vice than even 
envy; and that’s the bane of human nature.” 

Captain Sanglier shrugged his shoulders; then he 
looked earnestly from Jasper toward the quartermaster* 
and from the quartermaster toward Jasper. 

“ I care not for your envy or your hypocrisy or even 
for your human natur’,” returned Pathfinder. “Jasper 
Eau-douce is my friend; Jasper Eau-douce is a brave lad, 
and an honest lad, and a loyal lad ; and no man of the 
55th shall lay hands on him short of Lundie’s own orders, 
while I am in the way to prevent it. You may have au- 
thority over your soldiers, but you have none over Jasper 
or me, Master Muir.” 

“Bon" ejaculated Sanglier; the sound partaking 
equally of the energies of the throat and of the nose. 


4 20 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“Will ye no hearken to reason, Pathfinder? Ye’ll no 
be forgetting our suspicions and judgments; and here is 
another circumstance to augment and aggravate them all. 
You can see this little bit of bunting; well, where should 
it be t found but by Mabel Dunham, on the branch of a 
tree, on this very island, just an hour or so before the at- 
tack of the enemy, and if ye’ll be at the trouble to look 
at the fly of the Scud's ensign, ye’ll just say that the cloth 
has been cut from out it. Circumstantial evidence was 
never stronger.” 

“ Ma foi , c est un peu fort , ceci, ” growled Sanglier, be- 
tween his teeth. 

“Talk to me of no ensigns and signals, when I know 
the heart,” continued the Pathfinder. “Jasper has the 
gift of honesty; and it is too rare a gift to be trifled with 
like a Mingo’s conscience. No, no; off hands, or we shall 
see which can make the stoutest battle — you, and your 
men of the 55th; or the Sarpent here, and Killdeer, with 
Jasper and his crew. You overrate your force, Lieuten- 
ant Muir, as much as you underrate Eau-douce’s truth.” 

“ Trh-bon ! ” 

“Well, if I must speak plainly, Pathfinder, I e’en must. 
Captain Sanglier here, and Arrowhead, this brave Tus- 
carora, have both informed me that this unfortunate boy 
is the traitor. After such testimony you can no longer 
oppose my right to correct him, as well as the necessity 
of the act.” 

“ Setter at ,” muttered the Frenchman. 

“ Captain Sanglier is a brave soldier, and will not gain- 
say the conduct of an honest sailor,” put in Jasper. “Is 
there any traitor here, Captain Flinty-heart ? ” 

“Ay,” added Muir, “let him speak out, then, since ye 
wish it, unhappy youth, that the truth may be known. 

I only hope that ye may escape the last punishment when 
a court will be sitting on your misdeeds. How is it, 
captain — do ye or do ye not see a traitor among us ? ” 

“ Oui — yes, sair — bien stir. ” 

“Too much lie!” said Arrowhead, in a voice of thun- 
der, striking the breast of Muir with the back of his own 
hand, in a sort of ungovernable gesture. “Where my 
warriors? — where Yengeese scalp ? Too much lie! ” 

Muir wanted not for personal courage, nor for a certain 


THE PATHFINDER. 


421 


sense of personal honor. The violence which had been 
intended only for a gesture he mistook tor a blow — for 
conscience was suddenly aroused within him — and he 
stepped back a pace, extending a hand toward a gun. His 
face was livid with rage, and his countenance expressed 
the fell intention of his heart. But Arrowhead was too 
quick for him. With a wild glance of the eye, the Tus- 
carora looked about him; then, thrusting a hand beneath 
his own girdle, he drew forth a concealed knife, and, in 
the twinkling of an eye, buried it in the body of the 
quartermaster to the handle. As the latter fell at his feet, 
gazing into his face with the vacant stare of one surprised 
by death. Sanglier took a pinch of snuff, and said in a 
calm voice: 

“ Voila r affaire finie — mais ” — shrugging his shoulders 
“ ce n'est qu'un scelerat de moins. ” 

The act was too sudden to be prevented, and when Ar- 
rowhead, uttering a yell, bounded into the bushes, the 
white men were too confounded to follow. Chingach- 
gook, however, was more collected; and the bushes had 
scarcely closed on the passing body of the Tuscarora, 
than they were again opened by that of the Delaware in 
full pursuit. 

Jasper Western spoke French fluently, and the words 
and manner of Sanglier struck him. 

“ Speak, monsieur,” he said, in English, “am I the 
traitor ? ” 

“ Le voila ” — answered the cool Frenchman — “ dat is our 
espion — our agent — our friend — ma Joi — detail nn grand 
scelerat — void. ” 

While speaking, Sanglier bent over the dead body, and 
thrust a hand into the pocket of the quartermaster, out of 
which he drew a purse. Emptying the contents on the 
ground, several double-louis rolled toward the soldiers, 
who were not slow in picking them up. Casting the purse 
from him in contempt, the soldier of fortune turned 
toward the soup he had been preparing with so much 
care, and, finding it to his liking, he began to break his 
fast, with an air of indifference that the most stoical In* 
dian warrior might have envied. 


422 


THE PATHFINDER. 


CHAPTER XXVII. 


“ The only amaranthine flower on earth 

Is virtue; th’ only lasting treasure, truth.” — C owper. 

The reader must imagine some of the occurrences that 
followed the sudden death of Muir. While his body was. 
in the hands of his soldiers, who had laid it decently aside 
and covered it with a great-coat, Chingachgook silently 
resumed his place at the fire, and both Sanglier and Path- 
finder remarked that he carried a fresh and bleeding scalp 
at his girdle. No one asked any questions; and the 
former, although perfectly satisfied that Arrowhead had 
fallen, manifested neither curiosity nor feeling. He con- 
tinued calmly eating his soup, as if the meal had been 
tranquil as usual. There was something of pride, and 
of an assumed indifference to fate, imitated from the In- 
dians, in all this; but there was more that really resulted 
from practice, habitual self-command, and constitutional 
hardihood. With Pathfinder, the case was a little differ- 
ent in feeling, though much the same in appearance. 
He disliked Muir, whose smooth-tongued courtesy was 
little in accordance with his own frank and ingenuous 
nature; but he had been shocked at his unexpected and 
violent death, though accustomed to similar scenes, and 
he had been surprised at the exposure of his treachery. 
With a view to ascertain the extent of the latter, as soon 
as the body was removed he began to question the captain 
on the subject. The latter, having no particular motive 
for secrecy, now that his agent was dead, in the course of 
the breakfast revealed the following circumstances, which 
will serve to clear up some of the minor incidents of our 
tale. 

Soon after the 55th appeared on the frontiers, Muir 
had volunteered his services to the enemy. In making 
his offer he boasted of his intimacy with Lundie, and of 
the means it afforded of furnishing more accurate and 


THE PATHFINDER. 


important information than usual. His terms had been 
accepted, and Monsieur Sanglier had several interviews 
with him in the vicinity of the fort at Oswego, and had 
actually passed one entire night secreted in the garrison. 
Arrowhead, however, was the usual channel of communi- 
cation, and the anonymous letter to Major Duncan had 
been originally written by Muir, transmitted to Frontenac, 
copied, and sent back by the Tuscarora, who was return- 
ing from that errand when captured by the Scud. It is 
scarcely necessary to add, that Jasper was to be sacrificed 
in order to conceal the quartermaster’s treason, and that 
the position of the island had been betrayed to the enemy 
,by the latter. An extraordinary compensation, that which 
was found in his purse, had induced him to accompany 
the party under Sergeant Dunham, in order to give the 
signals that were to bring on the attack. The disposi- 
tion of Muir toward the sex was a natural weakness, and 
he would have married Mabel or any one else who would 
accept his hand; but his admiration of her was in a great 
degree feigned, in order that he might have an excuse for 
accompanying the party, without sharing in the responsi- 
bility of its defeat, or incurring the risk of having no other 
strong and seemingly sufficient motive. Much of this was 
known to Captain Sanglier, particularly the part in con- 
nection with Mabel ; and he did not fail to let his auditors 
into the whole secret, frequently laughing in a sarcastic 
manner, as he revealed the different expedients of the 
luckles c quartermaster. 

“ Touchez-la ,” said the cold-blooded partisan, holding 
out his sinewy hand to Pathfinder, when he ended his ex- 
planations — “ you be honnete, and dat is beaucoup. We 
tak’ de spy, as we tak’ la medicine , for de good; maisje 
2es deteste / Touchez-la.” 

“I’ll shake your hand, captain, I will, for you’re a law- 
ful and nat’ral inimy,” returned Pathfinder, “and a man- 
ful one, but the body of the quartermaster shall never 
disgrace English ground. I did intend to carry it back 
to Lundie, that he might play his bagpipes over it; but 
now it shall lie here on the spot where he acted his vil- 
lany, and have his own treason for a headstone. Cap- 
tain Flinty-heart, I suppose this consorting with traitors 
is a part of a soldier’s regular business; but I tell you 


424 


THE PATHFINDER. 


honestly, it is not to my liking, and I’d rattier it should 
be you than I who had this affair on his conscience. 
What an awful sinner! To plot right and left agin’ coun- 
try, friends, and the Lord! Jasper, boy, a word with you 
aside for a single minute.” 

Pathfinder now led the young man apart, and squeez- 
ing his hand with the tears in his own eyes he continued: 

“You know me, Eau-douce, and I know you,” he said, 
“ and this news has not changed my opinion of you in any 
manner. I never believed their tales, though it looked 
solemn at one minute, I will own; yes, it did look solemn 
and it made me feel solemn, too. I never suspected you 
for a minute, for I know your gifts don’t lie that-a-way; 
but I must own I didn’t suspect the quartermaster neither. ” 

“ And he holding his majesty’s commission, Pathfinder ! ” 

“ It isn’t so much that, Jasper Western; it isn’t so much 
that. He held a commission from God to act right, and 
to deal fairly with his fellow-creatur’s, and he has failed 
awfully in his duty! ” 

“To think of his pretending love for one like Mabel, 
too, when he felt none!” 

“ That was bad, sartainly ; the fellow must have Mingo 
blood in his veins. The man that deals unfairly by a 
woman can be but a mongrel, lad ; for the Lord has made 
them helpless on purpose that we may gain their love by 
kindness and sarvices. Here is the sergeant, poor man, 
on his dying bed; he has given me his daughter for a 
wife, and Mabel, dear girl, she has consented to it; and 
it makes me feel that I have two welfares to look after, 
two natur’s to care for, and two hearts to gladden. Ah’s 
me! Jasper; I sometimes feel that I’m not good enough 
for that sweet child! ” 

Eau-douce had nearly gasped for breath when he first 
heard this intelligence; and, though he succeeded in sup- 
pressing any other outward signs of agitation, his cheek 
was blanched nearly to the paleness of death. Still he 
found means to answer, not only with firmness, but with 
energy : 

“Say not so, Pathfinder; you are good enough for a 
queen.” 

“ Ay, ay, boy, according to your ideas of my goodness* 
that is to say — I can kill a deer, or even a Mingo at neeqj 


THE PATHFINDER. 


425 


with any man on the lines; or I can follow a path with as 
true an eye, or read the stars, when others do not under- 
stand them. No doubt, no doubt, Mabel will have veni- 
son enough, and fish enough, and pigeons enough; but 
will she have knowledge enough, and will she have ideas 
enough, and pleasant conversation enough, when life 
comes to drag a little, and each of us begins to pass for 
our true value ? ” 

“ If you pass for your value, Pathfinder, the greatest 
lady in the land would be happy with you. On that head, 
you have no reason to feel afraid.” 

“ Now, Jasper, I dare to say you think so — nay, I k?iow 
you do; for it is nat’ral and according to friendship, for 
people to look over-favorably at them they love. Yes, 
yes; if I had to marry you, boy, I should give myself no 
consarn about being well looked upon, for you have al- 
ways shown a disposition to see me and all I do with 
friendly eyes. But a young gall, after all, must wish to 
marry a man that is nearer to her own age and fancies, 
than to have one old enough to be her father, and rude 
enough to frighten her. I wonder, Jasper, that Mabel 
never took a fancy to you, now, rather than settling her 
mind on me! ” 

“ Take a fancy to me, Pathfinder! ” returned the young 
man, endeavoring to clear his voice without betraying 
himself. “ What is there about me to please such a girl as 
Mabel Dunham ? I have all that you find fault with in 
yourself, with none of that excellence that makes even 
the generals respect you.” 

“Well — well — it’s all chance, say what we will about 
it. Here I have journeyed and guided through the woods, 
female after female, and consorted with them in the garri- 
sons, and never have I even felt an inclination for any 
until I saw Mabel Dunham. It is true the poor sergeant 
first set me to thinking about his daughter; but, after we 
got a little acquainted like, I’d no need of being spoken 
to, to think of her night and day. I’m tough, Jasper; 
yes, I’m very tough; and I’m resolute enough, as you 
all know; and yet I do think it would quite break me 
down now, to lose Mabel Dunham! ” 

“We will talk no more of it, Pathfinder,” said Jasper, 
returning his friend’s squeeze of the hand, and moving 


426 


THE PATHFINDER. 


back toward the fire, though slowly, and in the manner 
of one who cared little where he went; “we will talk no 
more of it. You are worthy of Mabel, and Mabel is 
worthy of you — you like Mabel, and Mabel likes you — 
her father has chosen you for her husband, and no one 
has a right to interfere. As for the quartermaster, his 
feigning love for Mabel is worse even than his treason to 
the king! ” 

By this time they were so near the fire, that it was 
necessary to change the conversation. Luckily, at that 
instant, Cap, who had been in the block in company with 
his dying brother-in-law, and who knew nothing of what 
had passed since the capitulation, now appeared, walking 
with a meditative and melancholy air toward the group. 
Much of that hearty dogmatism that imparted even to his 
ordinary air and demeanor an appearance of something 
like contempt for all around him had disappeared, and he 
seemed thoughtful, if not meek. 

“This death, gentlemen,” he said, when he had got 
sufficiently near, “ is a melancholy business, make the 
best of it. Now, here is Sergeant Dunham, a very good 
soldier, I make no question, about to slip his cable, and 
yet he holds on to the bitter end of it, as if he was deter- 
mined it should never run out of the hawse-hole, and all 
because he loves his daughter, it seems to me. For my 
part, when a friend is really under the necessity of making 
a long journey, I always wish him well and happily off.” 

“You wouldn’t kill the sergeant before his time?” 
Pathfinder reproachfully answered. “ Life is sweet, even 
to the aged; and, for that matter, I’ve known some that 
seemed to set much store by it, when it got to be of the 
least value.” 

Nothing had been further from Cap’s real thoughts than 
the wish to hasten his brother-in-law’s end. He had found 
himself embarrassed with the duties of smoothing a death- 
bed, and all he had meant was to express a sincere desire 
that the sergeant was happily rid of doubt and suffering. 
A little shocked, therefore, at the interpretation that had 
been put on his words, he rejoined with some of the as- 
perity of the man, though rebuked by a consciousness of 
not having done his own wishes justice. 

“ You are too old and too sensible a person, Pathfinder,” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


427 


lie said, “ to fetch a man up with a surge, when he is pay- 
ing out his ideas in distress, as it might be. Sergeant 
Dunham is both my brother-in-law and my friend — that is 
to say, as intimate a friend as a soldier well can be with 
a seafaring man, and I respect and honor him accord- 
ingly. I make no doubt, moreover, that he has lived 
such a life as becomes a man, and there can be no great 
harm, after all, in wishing any one well berthed in heaven. 
Well! we are mortal the best of us, that you’ll not deny; 
and it ought to be a lesson not to feel pride in our strength 
and beauty. Where is the quartermaster, Pathfinder ? It 
is proper he should come and have a parting word with 
the poor sergeant, who is only going a little before us.” 

“ You have spoken more truth, Master Cap, than you’ve 
been knowing ‘to, all this time; in which there is no great 
wonder, howsoever; mankind as often telling biting truths 
when they least mean it, as at any other time. You might 
have gone further, notwithstanding, and said that we are 
mortal, the worst of us, which is quite as true, and, a good 
deal more wholesome than saying that we are mortal, the 
best of us. As for the quartermaster’s coming to speak a 
parting word to the sergeant, it is quite out of the ques- 
tion, seeing that he has gone ahead, and that too with 
little parting notice to himself, or to any one else.” 

“You are not quite as clear as common in your lan- 
guage, Pathfinder. I know that we ought all to have 
solemn thoughts, on these occasions, but I see no use in 
speaking in parables.” 

“ If my words are not plain, the idee is. In short, 
Master Cap, while Sergeant Dunham has been preparing 
himself for a long journey, like a conscientious and hon- 
est man as he is, deliberately and slowly, the quarter- 
master has started in a hurry before him; and, although 
it is a matter on which it does not become me to be very 
positive, I give it as my opinion that they travel such 
•different roads that they will never meet.” 

“ Explain yourself, my friend,” said the bewildered sea- 
man, looking around him in search of Muir, whose ab- 
sence began to excite his distrust. “ I see nothing of the 
quartermaster, but I think him too much of a man to run 
away, now that the victory is gained. If the fight were 
ahead, instead of in our wake, the case would be altered/' 


428 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ There lies all that is left of him, beneath that great- 
coat,” returned the guide, who then briefly related the 
manner of the lieutenant’s death. “ The Tuscarora was 
as venomous in his blow as a rattler, though he failed to 
give the warning,” continued Pathfinder. “ I’ve seen many 
a desperate fight, and several of these sudden outbreaks 
of savage temper; but never, before, did I see a human 
soul quit the body more unexpectedly, or at a worse mo- 
ment for the hopes of the dying man. His breath was 
stopped with the lie on his lips, and the spirit might be 
said to have passed away in the very ardor of wicked- 
ness.” 

Cap listened with a gaping mouth, and he gave two or 
three violent hems as the other concluded, like one who 
distrusted his own respiration. 

“ This is an uncertain and uncomfortable life of yours, 
Master Pathfinder, what between the fresh water and the 
savages,” he said, “ and the sooner I get quit of it, the 
higher will be my opinion of myself. Now you mention 
it, I will say that the man ran for that berth in the rocks, 
when the enemy first bore down upon us, with a sort of 
instinct that I thought surprising in an officer; but I was 
in too great a hurry to follow, to log the whole matter 
accurately. God bless me — God bless me! a traitor, do 
you say, and ready to sell his country, and to a bloody 
Frenchman, too ? ” 

“To sell anything — country, soul, body, Mabel, and all 
our scalps, and no ways particular, I’ll engage, as to the 
purchaser. The countrymen of Captain Flinty-heart, 
here, were the paymasters this time.” 

“Just like ’em; ever ready to buy when they can’t 
thrash, and to run when they can’t do neither.” 

Monsieur Sanglier lifted his cap with ironical gravity, 
and acknowledged the compliment with an expression of 
polite contempt that was altogether lost on its insensible 
subject. But Pathfinder had too much native courtesy, 
and was far too just-minded, to allow the attack to go 
unnoticed. 

“Well — well,” he interposed — “to my mind there is no 
great difference between an Englishman and a Frenchman 
a’ter all. They talk different tongues, and live under dif- 
ferent kings, I will allow; but both are human, and feel 


THE PATHFINDER. 


429 

like human beings, when there is occasion for it. If a 
Frenchman is sometimes skeary, so is an Englishman; and 
as for running away, why a man will now and then do it, 
as well as a horse, let him come of what people he may/* 

Captain Flinty-heart, as Pathfinder called him, made 
another obeisance ; but this time the smile was friendly 
and not ironical, for he felt that the intention was good, 
whatever might have been the mode of expressing it. 
Too philosophical, however, to heed what a man like Cap 
might say or think, he finished his breakfast without al- 
lowing his attention to be again diverted from that im- 
portant pursuit. 

“ My business here was principally with the quarter- 
master,” Cap continued, as soon as he had done regarding 
the Frenchman’s pantomime. “ The sergeant must be 
near his end, and I have thought he might wish to say 
something to his successor in authority, before he finally 
departed. It is too late, it would seem; and, as you say, 
Pathfinder, the lieutenant has truly gone before.” 

“ That he has, though on a different path. As for au- 
thority, I suppose the corporal has now a right to com- 
mand what’s left of the 55th, though a small and worried, 
not to say frightened, party it is. But, if anything needs 
to be done, the chances are greatly in favor of my being 
called on to do it. I suppose, however, we have only to 
bury our dead and set fire to the block and the huts, for 
they stand in the inimy’s territory, by position, if not by 
law, and must not be left for their convenience. Our 
using them again is out of the question; for now the 
Frenchers know where the island is to be found, it would 
be like thrusting the hand into a wolf-trap, with our eyes 
wide open. This part of the work the Sarpent and I will 
see to; for we are practiced in retreats as in advances.” 

“All that is very well, my good friend: and now for 
my poor brother-in-law; though he is a soldier, we cannot 
let him slip without a word of consolation and a leave- 
taking, in my judgment. This has been an unlucky affair, 
on every tack, though I suppose it is what one had a right 
to expect, considering the state of the times and the na- 
ture of the navigation. We must make the best of it, and 
try to help the worthy man to unmoor without straining: 
his messengers. Death is a circumstance, after all, Mas- 


43 ° 


THE PATHFINDER. 


ter Pathfinder, and one of a very general character, too, 
seeing that we must all submit to it, sooner or later.” 

“You say truth, you say truth; and for that reason I 
hold it to be wise to be always ready. I’ve often thought, 
Saltwater, that he is happiest who has the least to leave 
behind him, when the summons comes. Now, here am 
I, a hunter and a scout, and a guide, although I do not 
own a foot of land on ’arth, yet do I enjoy and possess 
more than the great Albany Patroon. With the heavens 
over my head to keep me in mind of the last great hunt, 
and the dried leaves beneath my feet, I tramp over the 
ground as freely as if I was its lord and owner: and what 
more need heart desire ? Ido not say that I love nothing 
that belongs to ’arth; for I do, though not much, unless 
it might be Mabel Dunham, that I can’t carry with me. 
I have some pups at the higher fort, that I valy consider- 
able, though they are too noisy for warfare, and so we 
are compelled to live separate for a while; and then, I 
think, it would grieve me to part with Killdeer; but I see 
no reason why we should not be buried in the same grave, 
for we are, as near as can be, of the same length — six 
feet, to a hair’s-breadth ; but, bating these, and a pipe 
that the Sarpent gave, and a few tokens received from 
travellers, all of which might be put in a pouch, and laid 
under my head, when the order comes to march, I shall 
be ready at a minute’s warning; and, let me tell you, 
Master Cap, that’s what I call a circumstance, too! ” 

“ ’Tis just so with me,” answered the sailor, as the two 
walked toward the block, too much occupied with their 
respective morality to remember, at the moment, the mel- 
ancholy errand they were on — “that’s just my way of 
feeling and reasoning. How often have I felt when near 
shipwreck the relief of not owning the craft! ‘If she 
goes,’ I halve said to myself, ‘why, my life goes with her 
but not my property, and there’s great comfort in that.’ 
I’ve discovered in the course of boxing about the world, 
from the Horn to Cape North, not to speak of this run on 
a bit of fresh-water, that if a man has a few dollars, and 
puts them in a chest under lock and key, he is pretty cer- 
tain to fasten up his heart in the same till ; and so I carry 
pretty much all I own in a belt round my body, in order, 
as I say, to keep the vitals in the right place. D — e, 


THE PATHFINDER. 


43 - 


Pathfinder, if I think a man without a heart any better 
than a fish with a hole in his air-bag.” 

“ I don’t know how that may be, Master Cap, but a 
man without a conscience is but a poor creatur’, take my 
word for it, as any one will discover who has to do with a 
Mingo. I trouble myself little with dollars or half-joes, 
for these are the favoryte coin in this part of the world; 
but I can easily believe, by what I’ve seen of mankind, 
that if a man has a chest filled with either he may be said 
to lock up his heart in the same box. I once hunted for 
two summers during the last peace, and I collected so 
much peltry that I found my right feelings giving way to 
a craving after property; and if I have consarn in marry- 
ing Mabel, it is that I may get to love such things too 
well, in order to make her comfortable.” 

“You’re a philosopher, that’s clear, Pathfinder; and I 
don’t know but you’re a Christian! ” 

“ I should be out of humor with the man that gainsaid 
the last, Master Cap. I have not been Christianized by 
the Moravians, like so many of the Delawares, it is true; 
but I hold to Christianity and white gifts. With me it is 
as oncreditable for a white man not to be a Christian as 
it is for a red-skin not to believe in his happy hunting- 
grounds; indeed, after allowing for difference in tradi- 
tions and some variations about the manner in which the 
spirit will be occupied after death, I hold that a good 
Delaware is a good Christian though he never saw a 
Moravian; and a good Christian a good Delaware, so far 
as natur’ is consarned. The Sarpent and I talk these 
matters over often, for he has a hankerin’ after Chris- 
tianity ” 

“The d — 1 he has!” interrupted Cap. “And what 
does he intend to do in a church with all the scalps he 
takes ? ” 

“ Don’t run away with a false idee, friend Cap, don’t 
run away with a false idee. These things are only skin- 
deep, and all depend on edication and nat’ral gifts. Look 
around you at mankind, and tell me why you see a red 
warrior here, a black one there, and white armies in an- 
other place ? All this, and a great deal more of the same 
kind that I could point out, has been ordered for some 
special purpose; and it is not for us to fly in the face of 


43 2 


THE PATHFINDER. 


facts and deny their truth. No — no — each color has its 
gifts, and its laws, and its traditions; and one is not to 
condemn another because he does not exactly compre- 
hend it.” 

“You must have read a gre'at deal, Pathfinder, to see 
things as clear as this,” returned Cap, who was not a little 
mystified by his companion’s simple creed. “It’s all as 
plain as day to me now, though I must say I never fell in 
with these opinions before. What denomination do you 
belong to, my friend ? ” 

“ Anan? ” 

“ What sect do you hold out for ? What particular 
church do you fetch up in? ” 

“Look about you, and judge for yourself. I’m in 
church now; I eat in church, drink in church, sleep in 
church. The ’arth is the temple of the Lord, and I wait 
on Him hourly, daily, without ceasing, I humbly hope. 
No — no — I’ll not deny my blood and color, but am Chris- 
,ian born, and shall die in the same faith. The Mora- 
vians tried me hard; and one of the king’s chaplains 
has had his say, too, though that’s a class no ways strenu- 
ous on such matters; and a missionary sent from Rome 
talked much with me as I guided him through the forest 
during the last peace; but I’ve had one answer for them 
all — I’m a Christian already, and want to be neither Mora- 
vian, nor Churchman, nor Papist. No — no — I’ll not deny 
my birth and blood.” 

“ I think a word from you might lighten the sergeant 
over the shoals of death, Master Pathfinder. He has no 
one with him but poor Mabel, and she, you know, besides 
being his daughter, is but a girl and a child, after all.” 

“ Mabel is feeble in body, friend Cap, but in matters 
of this natur’ I doubt if she may not be stronger than most 
men. But Sergeant Dunham is my friend, and he is your 
brother-in-law; so now the press of fighting and main- 
taining our rights is over, it is fitting we should both go 
and witness his departure. I’ve stood by many a dying 
man, Master Cap,” continued Pathfinder, who had a be- 
setting propensity to enlarge on his experience, stopping 
and holding his companion by a button — “I’ve stood by 
many a dying man's side, and seen his last gasp, and 
iiv-ard his last breath; for when the hurry and tumult of 


THE PATHFINDER. 


433 


the battle is over, it is good to bethink us of the misfor- 
tune, and it is remarkable to witness how differently hu- 
man natur’ feels at such solemn moments. Some go their 
way as stupid and ignorant as if God had never given 
them reason and an accountable state; while others quit 
us rejoicing like men who leave heavy burdens behind 
them. I think that the mind sees clearly at such moments, 
my friend, and that past deeds stand thick before the 
recollection.” 

“Til engage they do, Pathfinder. I have witnessed 
something of this myself, and I hope I’m the better man 
for it. I remember once that I thought my own time had 
come, and the log was overhauled with a diligence I did not 
think myself capable of until that moment. I’ve not been 
a very great sinner, friend Pathfinder; that is to say, never 
on a large scale; though, I dare say, if the truth were 
spoken, a considerable amount of small matters might be 
raked up against me, as well as against another man ; but 
then I’ve never committed piracy nor high treason, nor 
arson, nor any of them sort of things. As to smuggling, 
and the like of that, why, I’m a seafaring man, and I sup- 
pose all callings have their weak spots. I dare say your 
trade is not altogether without blemish, honorable and 
useful as it seems to be ? ” 

“ Many of the scouts and guides are desperate knaves; 
and, like the quartermaster here, some of them take pay 
of both sides. I hope I’m not one of them, though all 
occupations lead to temptations. Thrice have I been 
sorely tried in my life, and once yielded a little, though I 
hope it was not in a matter to disturb a man’s conscience 
in his last moments. The first time was when I found in 
the woods a pack of skins that I knowed belonged to a 
Frencher, who was hunting on our side of the lines, where 
he had no business to be; twenty-six as handsome beavers 
as ever gladdened human eyes! Well, that was a sore 
temptation, for I thought the law would have been almost 
with me, although it was in peace times. But then I re- 
membered that such laws wasn’t made for us hunters, and 
bethought me that the poor man might have built great 
expectations for the next winter, on the sale of his skins; 
and I left them where they lay. Most of our people said 
I did wrong, but the manner in which I slept tha^ night 


434 


THE PATHFINDER. 


convinceu me that I had done right. The next trial fc as 
when I found the rifle, that is sartainly the only one in 
this part of the world that can be calculated on as surely 
as Killdeer, and knowed that by taking it, or even hiding 
it, I might at once rise to be the first shot in all these 
parts. I was then young, and by no means as expart as 
I have since got to be, and youth is ambitious and striv- 
ing; but, God be praised! I mastered that feeling; and, 
friend Cap, what is almost as good, I mastered my rival 
in as fair a shooting-match as was ever witnessed in a 
garrison ; he with his piece, and I with Killdeer, and before 
the general in person, too! ” Here Pathfinder stopped to 
laugh, his triumph still glittering in his eyes, and glowing 
on his sunburned and browned cheek. “Well, the next 
conflict with the devil was the hardest of them all, and 
that was when I came suddenly upon a camp of six Min- 
goes, asleep in the woods, with their guns and horns piled 
in a way that enabled me to get possession of them with- 
out waking a miscreant of them all. What an opportu- 
nity that would have been for the Sarpent, who would 
have dispatched them, one after another, with his knife, 
and had their six scalps at his girdle in about the time it 
takes me to tell you the story! Oh! he’s a valiant war- 
rior, that Chingachgook, and as honest as he’s brave, and 
as good as he’s honest! ” 

“And what may you have done in this matter, Master 
Pathfinder? ” demanded Cap, who began to be interested 
in the result; “ it seems to me you had made either a very 
lucky or a very unlucky landfall.” 

“’Twas lucky, and ’twas unlucky, if you can under- 
stand that. ’Twas unlucky, for it proved a desperate 
trial; and yet ’twas lucky, all things considered, in the 
ind. I did not touch a hair of their heads, for a white 
man has no nat’ral gifts to take scalps: nor did I even 
make sure of one of their rifles. I distrusted myself, 
knowing that a Mingo is no favorite in my own eyes.” 

“ As for the scalps, I think you were right enough, my 
worthy friend ; but as for the armament and the stores, 
they would have been condemned by any prize-court in 
Christendom. ” 

“ That they would — that they would; but then the Min- 
goes have gone clear, seeing that a white ™nn can. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


435 


no more attack an unarmed than a sleeping mimy. No 
— no — I did myself, and my color, and my religion, too, 
greater justice. I waited till their nap was over, and they 
well on the war-path again: and by ambushing them here, 
and flanking them there, I peppered the blackguards in- 
trinsically like ” — Pathfinder occasionally caught a fine 
word from his associates, and used it a little vaguely — 
“that only one ever got back to his village; and he came 
into his wigwam, limping. Luckily, as it turned out, the 
great Delaware had only halted to jerk some venison, and 
was following on my trail; and when he got up, he had 
five of the scoundrels’ scalps hanging where they ought 
to be; so you see nothing was lost by doing right, either 
in the way of honor or in that of profit.” 

Cap grunted an assent, though the distinctions in his 
companion’s morality, it must be owned, were not exactly 
clear to his understanding. The two had occasionally 
moved toward the block as they conversed, and then 
stopped again, as some matter of more interest than com- 
mon brought them to a halt. They were now so near 
the building, however, that neither thought of pursuing 
the subject any farther; but each prepared himself for 
the final scene with Sergeant Dunham. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Thou barraine ground, whom winter’s wrath hath wasted, 
Art made a mirror to behold my plight : 

Whil’ome thy fresh spring flower’d : and after hasted 
Thy summer proude, with daffodillies dight ; 

And now is come thy winter’s stormy state, 

Thy mantle mar’d wherein thou maskedest late.” — Spenser. 


Although the soldier may regard danger and even 
death with indifference, in the tumult of battle, when the 
passage of the soul is delayed to moments of tranquillity 
and reflection the change commonly brings with it the 
usual train of solemn reflections; of regret for the past; 
and doubts and anticipations for the future. Many a man 
has died with an heroic expression on his lips, but with 
heaviness and distrust at his heart; for, whatever may be 


436 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the varieties of our religious creeds — let us depend on the 
mediation of Christ, the dogmas of Mahomet, or the elab- 
orated allegories of the East — there is a conviction, com- 
mon to all men, that death is but the stepping-stone be- 
tween this and a more elevated state of being. Sergeant 
Dunham was a brave man ; but he was departing for a 
country in which resolution could avail him nothing; and, 
as he felt himself gradually loosened from the grasp of 
the world, his thoughts and feelings took the natural di- 
rection; for, if it be true that death is the great level- 
ler, in nothing is it more true than that it reduces all to 
the same views of the vanity of life. 

Pathfinder, though a man of quaint and peculiar habits 
and opinions, was always thoughtful, and disposed to view 
the things around him with a shade of philosophy, as well 
as with seriousness. In him, therefore, the scene in the 
block-house awakened no very novel feelings; but the 
case was different with Cap. Rude, opinionated, dog- 
matical, and boisterous, the old sailor was little accus- 
tomed to view even death with any approach to the grav- 
ity that its importance demands; and, notwithstanding all 
that had passed, and his real regard for his brother-in- 
law, he now entered the room of the dying man with 
much of that callous unconcern which was the fruit of 
long training in a school that, while it gives so many les- 
sons in the sublimest truths, generally wastes its admoni- 
tions on scholars who are little disposed to profit by them. 

The first proof that Cap gave of his not entering as 
fully as those around him into the solemnity of the mo- 
ment, was by commencing a narration of the events which 
had just led to the deaths of Muir and Arrowhead. “ Both 
tripped their anchors in a hurry, Brother Dunham,” he 
concluded; “and you have the consolation of knowing 
that the others have gone before you in the great journey, 
and they, too, men whom you’ve no particular reason to 
love; which to me, were I placed in your situation, would 
be a source of very great satisfaction. My mother always 
said, Master Pathfinder, that dying people’s spirits should 
not be damped, but that they ought to be encouraged by 
all proper and prudent means; and this news will give the 
poor fellow a great lift, if he feels toward them savages 
any way as I feel myself.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


437 


June arose at this intelligence, and stole from the block- 
house with a noiseless step. Dunham listened with a 
vacant stare, for life had already lost so many of its ties 
that he had really forgotten Arrowhead, and cared nothing 
for Muir; but he inquired in a feeble voice for Eau-douce. 
The young man was immediately summoned, and soon 
made his appearance. The sergeant gazed at him kindly, 
and the expression of his eyes was that of regret for the 
injury he had done him in thought. The party in the 
block-house now consisted of Pathfinder, Cap, Mabel, 
Jasper, and the dying man. With the exception of the 
daughter, all stood around the sergeant’s pallet in at- 
tendance on his last moments. Mabel kneeled at his side, 
now pressing a clammy hand to her head, now applying 
moisture to the parched lips of her father, 

“Your case will shortly be our’n, sergeant,” said Path- 
fidner, who could hardly be said to be awestruck by the 
scene, for he had witnessed the approach and victories of 
death too often for that: but who felt the full difference 
between his triumphs in the excitement of battle, and in 
the quiet of the domestic circle; “ and I make no question 
we shall meet again hereafter. Arrowhead has gone his 
way, it is true; but it can never be the way of a just In- 
dian. You’ve seen the last of him; for his path cannot 
be the path of the just. Reason is agin’ the thought, in 
his case, as it is also in my judgment agin’ it, too, in the 
case of Lieutenant Muir. You have done your duty in 
life; and, when a man does that, he may start on the 
longest journey with a light heart and an actyve foot.” 

“ I hope, so, my friend — I’ve tried to do my duty.” 

“Ay — ay” — put in Cap, “intention is half the battle; 
and though you would have done better had you hove to 
in the offing and sent a craft in to feel how the land lay, 
things might have turned out differently; no one here 
doubts that you meant all for the best, and no one any- 
where else, I should think, from what I’ve seen of this 
world and read of t’other.” 

“ I did — yes — I meant all for the best.” 

“ Father! — oh ! my beloved father! ” 

“ Magnet is taken aback by this blow, Master Path- 
finder, and can say or do but little to carry her father over 
the shoals; so we must try all the harder to serve him a, 
friendly turn ourselves.’', 


43S 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Did you speak, Mabel ? ” Dunham asked, turning his 
eyes in the direction of his daughter, for he was already 
too feeble to turn his body. 

“Yes, father; rely on nothing you have done yourself 
for mercy and salvation ; trust altogether in the blessed 
mediation of the Son of God! ” 

“The chaplain has told us something like this, brother 
— the dear child may be right.” 

“Ay — ay — that’s doctrine out of question. He will be 
our judge, and keeps the log-book of our acts, and will 
foot them all up at the last day, and then say who has 
done well and who has done ill I do believe Mabel is 
right, but then you need not be concerned, as no doubt 
the account has been fairly kept.” 

“ Uncle! — dearest father! This is a vain illusion — oh! 
place all your trust in the mediation of our holy Re- 
deemer! Have you not often felt your own insufficiency 
to effect your own wishes in the commonest things, and 
how can you imagine yourself, by your own acts, equal 
to raise up a frail and sinful nature sufficiently to be re- 
ceived into the presence of perfect purity ? There is no 
hope for any, but in the mediation of Christ.” 

“This is what the Moravians used to tell us,” said Path- 
finder to Cap, in a low voice; “ Mabel is right.” 

“Right enough, friend Pathfinder, in the distances, but 
wrong in the course. I’m afraid the child will get the 
sergeant adrift at the very moment when we had him in 
the best of the water, and in the plainest part of the 
channel. ” 

“ Leave it to Mabel — leave it to Mabel — she knows 
better than any of us, and can do no harm.” 

I have heard this before,” Dunham at length replied. 
“Ah! Mabel; it is strange for the parent to lean on 
the child at a moment like this.” 

“ Put your trust in God, father — lean on his holy and 
compassionate Son. Pray, dearest, dearest father — pray 
for his omnipotent support.” 

“ I am not used to prayer — brother — Pathfinder — Jasper 
— can you help me to words ? ” 

Cap scarce knew what prayer meant, and he had no 
answer to give. Pathfinder prayed often, daily if not 
hourly — but it was mentally, in his own simple mode of 


THE PATHFINDER. 


A39‘ 


thinking, and without the aid of words at all this, 
strait, therefore, he was as useless as the manner, and 
had no reply to make. As for Jasper Eau-douce, though 
he would gladly have endeavored to move a mountain to- 
relieve Mabel, this was asking assistance it exceeded his 
power to give; and he shrank back with the shame that 
is only too apt to overcome the young, the vigorous, when 
called on to perform an act that tacitly confesses their 
real weakness and dependence on a superior power. 

“ Father,” said Mabel, wiping her eyes, and endeavor- 
ing to compose features that were pallid, and actually 
quivering with emotion — “/will pray with you — for you 
— for myself , for us all. The petition of the feeblest and 
humblest is never unheeded. ” 

There was something sublime, as well as much that was 
supremely touching, in this act of filial piety. The quiet 
but earnest manner in which this young creature prepared 
herself to perform the duty, the self-abandonment with 
which she forgot her sex’s timidity and sex’s shame, in 
order to sustain her parent at that trying moment; the 
loftiness of purpose with which she directed all her powers 
to the immense object before her, with a woman’s devo- 
tion and a woman’s superiority to trifles, when her affec- 
tion made the appeal; and the holy calm into which her 
grief was compressed, rendered her, for the moment, an 
object of something very like awe and veneration to her 
companions. 

Mabel had been religiously and reasonably educated; 
equally without exaggeration and without self-sufficiency. 
Her reliance on God was cheerful and full of hope, while 
it was of the humblest and most dependent nature. She. 
had been accustomed from childhood to address herself 
to the Deity in prayer; taking example from the divine 
mandate of Christ himself, who commanded his followers 
to abstain from vain repetitions, and who has left behind 
him a petition that is unequalled for sublimity and sen- 
tentiousness, as if expressly to rebuke the disposition of 
man to set up his own loose and random thoughts as the 
most acceptable sacrifice. The sect in which she had been 
reared has furnished to its followers some of the most 
beautiful compositions of the language, as a suitable vehi- 
cle fcr its devotion and solicitations. Accustomed tD this 


4\o 


THE PATHFINDER. 


mode of public and even private prayer, the mind of our 
heroine had naturally fallen into its train of lofty thought; 
her taste had become improved by its study, and her lan- 
guage elevated and enriched by its phrases. In short, 
Mabel, in this respect, was an instance of the influence 
and familiarity with propriety of thought, fitness of lan- 
guage, and decorum of manner, on the habits and ex- 
pressions of even those who might be supposed not to be 
always so susceptible of receiving high impressions of this 
nature. When she kneeled at the bedside of her father, 
the very reverence of her attitude and manner prepared 
the spectators for what was to come; and as her affection- 
ate heart prompted her tongue, and memory came in aid 
of both, the petition and praises that she offered up were 
of a character that might have worthily led the spirits of 
angels. Although the words were not slavishly borrowed, 
the expressions partook of the simple dignity of the lit- 
urgy to which she had been accustomed, and were prob- 
ably as worthy of the Being to whom they were addressed 
as they could well be made by human powers. They 
produced their full impression on the hearers; for it is 
worthy of remark that, notwithstanding the pernicious 
effects of a false taste when long submitted to, real sub- 
limity and beauty are so closely allied to nature, that they 
generally find an echo in every heart. 

But when our heroine came to touch upon the situation 
of the dying man, she became the most truly persuasive, 
for then she was the most truly zealous and natural. The 
beauty of the language was preserved, but it was sustained 
by the simple power of love; and her words were warmed 
by a holy zeal, that approached to the grandeur of true 
eloquence. We might record some of her expressions, 
but doubt the propriety of subjecting such sacred themes 
to a too familiar analysis, and refrain. 

The effect of this singular but solemn scene was differ- 
ent on the different individuals present. Dunham him- 
self was soon lost in the subject of the prayer; and he felt 
some such relief as one who finds himself staggering on 
the edge of a precipice under a burden difficult to be 
borne might be supposed to experience, when he unex- 
pectedly feels the weight removed in order to be placed 
on the shoulders of another bettC'' able to sustain it. Cap 


THE PATHFINDER. 


44 X 


was surprised, as well as awed ; though the effects on his 
mind were not very deep or very lasting. He wondered 
a little at his own sensations, and had his doubts whether 
they were as manly and heroic as they ought to be; but 
he was far too sensible of the influence of truth, humility, 
religious submission, and human dependency, to think of 
interposing with any of his crude objections. Jasper knelt 
opposite to Mabel, covered his face, and followed her 
words, with an earnest wish to aid her prayers with his 
own; though it maybe questioned if his thoughts did not 
dwell quite as much on the soft, gentle accents of the 
petitioner as on the subject of her petition. 

The effect on Pathfinder was striking and visible; visi- 
ble, because he stood erect, also opposite to Mabel; and 
the workings of his countenance, as usual, betrayed the 
workings of the spirit within. He leaned on his rifle, and, 
at moments, the sinewy fingers grasped the barrel with a 
force that seemed to compress the weapon; while once or 
twice, as Mabel’s language rose in intimate associations 
with her thoughts, he lifted his eyes to the floor above 
him, as if he expected to find some visible evidence of 
the presence of the dread Being to whom the words were 
addressed. Then again his feelings reverted to the fair 
creature who was thus pouring out her spirit in fervent 
but calm petitions, in behalf of a dying parent; for Ma- 
bel’s cheek was no longer pallid, but was flushed with a 
holy enthusiasm, while her blue eyes were upturned in the 
light in a way to resemble a picture by Guido. At these 
moments all the honest and manly attachment of Path- 
finder glowed in his ingenuous features, and his gaze at 
our heroine was such as the fondest parent might fasten 
on the child of his love. 

Sergeant Dunham laid his hand feebly on the head of 
Mabel as she ceased praying and buried her face in his 
blanket. 

“ Bless you — my beloved child — bless you! ” he rather 
whispered than uttered aloud ; “ this is truly consolation 
— would that I, too, could pray! ” 

“ Father, you know the Lord’s prayer — you taught it 
to me yourself, while I was yet an infant.” 

The sergeant’s face gleamed with a smile; for he did 
remember to have discharged that portion, at least, of 


442 


THE PATHFINDER. 


the paternal duty; and the consciousness of it him 
inconceivable gratification at that solemn moment. He 
was then silent for several minutes, and all present be- 
lieved that he was communing with God. 

“ Mabel — my child,” he at length uttered, in a voice that 
.seemed to be reviving — “Mabel — I’m quitting you — ” 
the spirit, at its great and final passage, appears to con- 
sider the body as nothing — “I’m quitting you, my child; 
where is your hand ? ” 

“ Here, dearest father — here are both — oh! take both.” 

“Pathfinder,” added the sergeant, feeling on the oppo- 
site side of the bed, where Jasper still knelt, and getting 
one of the hands of the young man by mistake — “ take it 
— I leave you as her father — as you and she may please 
— bless you — bless you both ” 

At that awful instant no one would rudely apprise the 
sergeant of his mistake; and he died a minute or two 
later, holding Jasper’s and Mabel’s hands covered by both 
his own. Our heroine was ignorant of the fact, until an 
exclamation of Cap’s announced the death of her father; 
when, raising her face, she saw the eyes of Jasper riveted 
on her own, and felt the warm pressure of his hand. But 
a single feeling was predominant at that instant: and 
Mabel withdrew to weep, scarcely conscious of what had 
occurred. The Pathfinder took the arm of Eau-douce, 
and he left the block. 

The two friends walked in silence past the fire along 
the glade, and nearly reached the opposite shore of the 
island in profound silence. Here they stopped, and Path- 
finder spoke. 

“ ’Tis all over, Jasper,” he said ; “ ’ tis all over. Ah’s 
me! Poor Sergeant Dunham has finished his march, and 
that, too, by the hand of a venomous Mingo. Well, we 
never know what is to happen, and his luck maybeyour’n, 
or mine, to-morrow, or next day! ” 

“ And Mabel ? What is to become of Mabel, Path- 
finder ? ” 

“ You heard the sergeant’s dying words — he has left his 
child in my care, Jasper; and it is a most solemn trust, it 
is; yes, it is a most solemn trust. ” 

“ It’s a trust, Pathfinder, of which any man would be 
glad to relieve you,” returned the youth, wi th a bitter 
smile. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


443 


“I’ve often thought it has fallen into wrong hands. 
I’m not consaited, Jasper; I’m not consaited, I do think 
I’m not; but if Mabel Dunham is willing to overlook all 
my imperfections and ignorances like, I should be wrong 
to gainsay it on account of any sartainty I may have my- 
self about my own want of merit.” 

“ No one will blame you, Pathfinder, for marrying Mabel 
Dunham, any more than they will blame you for wearing 
a precious jewel in your bosom that a friend had freely 
given you.” 

“ Do you think they’ll blame Mabel, lad ? I’ve had my 
misgivings about that, too, for all persons may not be as 
disposed to look at me with the same eyes as you and 
the sergeant’s daughter.” Jasper Eau-douce started, as 
a man flinches at sudden bodily pain; but he otherwise 
maintained his self-command. “ And mankind is envious 
and ill-natured, more particularly in and about the garri- 
sons. I sometimes wish, Jasper, that Mabel could have 
taken a fancy to you, I do; and that you had taken a 
fancy to her; for it often seems to me that one like you,, 
after all, might make her happier than I ever can.” 

“We will not talk about this, Pathfinder,” interrupted 
Jasper, hoarsely and impatiently; “ you will be Mabel’s 
husband, and it is not right to speak of any one else ia 
that character. As for me, I shall take Master Cap’s 
advice, and try and make a man of myself, by seeing what 
is to be done on the salt water.” 

“ You, Jasper Western! — you quit the lakes, the forests, 
and the lines; and this, too, for the towns and wasty ways 
of the settlements, and a little difference in the taste of 
the water ? Haven’t we the salt-licks, if salt is necessary 
to you ; and oughtn’t man to be satisfied with what con- 
tents the other creatur’s of God ? I counted on you,, 
Jasper — I counted on you, I did — and thought, now 
that Mabel and I intend to dwell in a cabin of our own,, 
that some day you might be tempted to choose a com- 
panion too, and come and settle in our neighborhood. 
There is a beautiful spot about fifty miles west of the. 
garrison that I had chosen in my mind for my own place 
of abode, and there is an excellent harbor ten leagues 
this side of it, where you could run in and out with the 
cutter, at any leisure minute; and I’d even fancied you 


444 


THE PATHFINDER. 


and your wile in possession of the one place, and Mabel 
and I in possession of t’other. We should be just a 
healthy hunt apart; and if the Lord ever intends any of 
his creatur’s to be happy on ’arth, none could be happier 
than we four.” 

“ You forget, my friend,” answered Jasper, taking the 
guide’s hand and forcing a friendly smile, “that I have 
no fourth person to love and cherish ; and I much doubt 
if I ever shall love any other as I love you and Mabel.” 

“Thank’ee, boy; I thank you with all my heart — but 
what you call love for Mabel is only friendship like, and 
a very different thing from what I feel. Now, instead of 
sleeping as sound as natur’ at midnight as I used to could, 
I dream nightly of Mabel Dunham. The young does 
sport before me; and when I raise Killdeer in order to 
take a little venison, the animals look back, and it seems 
as if they all had Mabel’s sweet countenance, laughing in 
my face, and looking as if they said, ‘Shoot me if you 
dare! ’ Then I hear her soft voice calling out among the 
birds as they sing; and, no later than the last nap I took, 
I bethought me in fancy of going over the Niagara hold- 
ing Mabel in my arms rather than part from her. The 
bitterest moments I’ve ever known were them in which 
the devil or some Mingo conjuror, perhaps, has just put 
into my head to fancy in dreams that Mabel is lost to me 
by some unaccountable calamity — either by changefulness 
or by violence.” 

“O Pathfinder! if you think this so bitter in a dream, 
what must it be to one who feels its reality, and knows it 
all to be true — true — true! So true, as to leave no hope; 
to leave nothing but despair! ” 

These words burst from Jasper as a fluid pours from 
the vessel that has been suddenly broken. They were 
uttered involuntarily, almost unconsciously, but with a 
truth and feeling that carried with them the instant con* 
viction of their deep sincerity. Pathfinder started, gazed 
at his friend for quite a minute like one bewildered; and 
then it was that in despite of all his simplicity the truth 
gleamed upon him. All know how corroborating proofs 
crowd upon the mind as soon as it catches a direct clew 
to any hitherto unsuspected fact; how rapidly the thoughts 
flow, and premises tend to their just conclusions, under 


THE PATHFINDER. 


445 


such circumstances. Our hero was so confiding by nature, 
so just and so much disposed to imagine that all his 
friends wished him the same happiness as he wished them, 
that, until this unfortunate moment, a suspicion of Jas- 
per’s attachment for Mabel had never been awakened in 
his bosom. He was, however, now too experienced in 
the emotions that characterized the passion; and the burst 
of feeling in his companion was too violent and too natu- 
ral to leave any further doubt on the subject. The feel- 
ing that first followed this change of opinion was one of 
deep humility and exquisite pain. He bethought him of 
Jasper’s youth, his higher claims to personal appearance, 
and all the general probabilities that such a suitor would 
be more agreeable to Mabel than he could possibly be 
himself. Then the noble rectitude of mind for which the 
man was so distinguished asserted its power; it was sus- 
tained by his rebuked manner of thinking of himself, and 
all that habitual deference for the rights and feelings of 
others, which appeared to be inbred in his very nature. 
Taking the arm of Jasper he led him to a log, where he 
compelled the young man to seat himself, by a sort of 
irresistible exercise of his iron muscles, and where he 
placed himself at his side. 

The instant his feelings had found vent, Eau-douce was 
both alarmed at and ashamed of their violence. He would 
have given all he possessed on earth could the last three 
minutes be recalled, but he was too frank by disposition, 
and too much accustomed to deal ingenuously by his 
friend, to think a moment of attempting further conceal- 
ment, or of any evasion of the explanation that he knew 
was about to be demanded. Even while he trembled in 
anticipation of what was about to follow, he never con- 
templated equivocation. 

“ Jasper,” Pathfinder commenced, in a tone so solemn 
as to thrill on every nerve in his listener’s body, “ this 
has surprised me ! You have kinder feelings toward Mabel 
than I had thought; and, unless my own mistaken vanity 
and consait have cruelly deceived me, I pity you, boy — 
from my soul, I do. Yes, I think I know how to pity any 
one who has set his heart on a creature like Mabel, unless 
he sees a prospect of her regarding him as he regards 
her. This matter must be cleared up, Eau-douce, as the 


446 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Delawares says, until there shall not be a cloud atween 
us.” 

“ What clearing up can it want, Pathfinder? I love 
Mabel Dunham, and Mabel Dunham does not love me — 
she prefers you for a husband; and the wisest thing I can 
do is to go off at once to the salt water and try to for- 
get you both.” 

“Forget me, Jasper! — that would be a punishment I 
don’t desarve. But how do you know that Mabel prefars 
me ? — how do you know it, lad ? To me it seems impossi- 
ble, like.” 

“ Is she not to marry you, and would Mabel marry a 
man she does not love ? ” 

“She has been hard urged by the sergeant, she has; 
and a dutiful child may have found it difficult to withstand 
the wishes of a dying parent. Have you ever told Mabel 
that you prefarred her, Jasper; that you bore her these 
feelings ? ” 

“ Never, Pathfinder; I would not do you that wrong! ” 

“ I believe you, lad, I do believe you; and I think you 
would now go to the salt-water, and let the scent die with 
you. But this must not be. Mabel shall hear all, and 
she shall have her own way, if my heart breaks in the 
trial, she shall. No words have ever passed atween you, 
then, Jasper ? ” 

“ Nothing of account — nothing direct. Still, I will own 
all my foolishness, Pathfinder, for I ought to own it to a 
generous friend like you, and there will be an end of it. 
You know how young people understand each other, or 
think they understand each other, without always speak- 
ing out in plain speech; and get to know each other’s 
thoughts, or to think they know them, by means of a hun- 
dred little ways ? ” 

“Not I, Jasper, not I,” truly answered the guide; for, 
sooth to say, his advances had never been met with any 
of that sweet and precious encouragement that silently 
marks the course of sympathy united to passion. “ Not 
I, Jasper — I know nothing of all this. Mabel has always 
treated me fairly, and said what she has to say in speech 
as plain as tongue could tell it.” 

“You have had the pleasure of hearing her say that 
she loved you, Pathfinder ? ” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


447 


“ Why no, Jasper, not just that, in words. She has 
told me that we never could — never ought to be married; 
that she was not good enough for me; though she did say 
that she honored me, and respected me. But then the 
sergeant said it was always so with the youthful and 
timid — that her mother did so, and said so, afore her; 
and that I ought to be satisfied if she would consent, cn 
any terms, to marry me, and therefore I have concluded 
that all was right, I have.” 

In spite of all his friendship for the successful wooer — 
in spite of all his honest, sincere wishes for his happiness, 
we should be unfaithful chroniclers did we not own that 
Jasper felt his heart bound with an uncontrollable feeling 
of delight at this admission. It was not that' he saw or 
felt any hope connected with the circumstance; but it 
was grateful to the jealous covetousness of unlimited love, 
thus to learn that no other ears had heard the sweet con- 
fessions that were denied its own. 

‘‘Tell me more of this manner of talking without the 
use of the tongue, ” continued Pathfinder, whose counte- 
nance was getting to be grave, and who now questioned 
his companion, like one who seemed to anticipate evil in 
the reply. “ I can, and have conversed with Chingach- 
gook, and with his son Uncas, too, in that mode, afore 
the latter fell; but I didn’t know that young girls prac- 
tysed this art; and least of all Mabel Dunham! ” 

“ ’Tis nothing, Pathfinder. I mean, only a look, a 
smile, or a glance of the eye, or the trembling of an arm, 
or a hand, when the young woman has had occasion to 
touch me; and because I have been weak enough to 
tremble even at Mabel’s breath, or her brushing me with 
her clothes, my vain thoughts have misled me. I never 
spoke plainly to Mabel myself; and now there is no use 
for it, since there is clearly no hope.” 

“Jasper,” returned Pathfinder, simply, but with a dig- 
nity that precluded further remarks at the moment, “ we 
will talk of the sergeant’s funeral, and of our own depar- 
ture from this island. After these things are disposed of, 
it will be time enough to say more of the sergeant’s 
daughter. This matter must be looked into ; for the father 
left me the care of the child.” 

Jaspe^ was glad enough to change the subject, and the 


448 


THE PATHFINDER. 


friends separated, each charged with the duty most pecu- 
liar to his own station and habits. 

That afternoon all the dead were interred — the grave 
of Sergeant Dunham being dug in the centre of the glade 
beneath the shade of the huge elm. Mabel wept bitterly 
at the ceremony, and she found relief in thus disburden- 
ing her sorrow. The night passed tranquilly, as did the 
whole of the following day ; Jasper declaring that the gale 
was too severe to venture on the lake. This circumstance 
detained Captain Sanglier, also, who did not quit the 
island until the morning of the third day after the death 
of Dunham, when the weather had moderated, and the 
wind had become fair. Then, indeed, he departed, after 
taking leave of the Pathfinder in the manner of one who 
believed he was in company of a distinguished character 
for the last time. The two separated like those who re- 
spect one another, while each felt that the other was an 
enigma to himself. 


CHAPTER XXIX. 


“ Playful she turned, that he might see 
The passing smile her cheeks put on : 

But when she marked how mournfully 
His eyes met hers, that smile was gone.” 

— Lalla Rookh, 

The occurrences of the last few days had been too ex- 
citing and had made too many demands on the fortitude 
of our heroine, to leave her in the helplessness of grief. 
She mourned for her father, and she occasionally shud- 
dered as she recalled the sudden death of Jennie and all 
the horrible scenes she had witnessed ; but, on the whole, 
she had aroused herself, and was no longer in the deep 
depression that usually accompanies grief. Perhaps the 
overwhelming, almost stupefying sorrow that crushed poor 
June, and left her for nearly twenty-four hours in a state 
of stupor, assisted Mabel in conquering her own feelings, 
for she had felt called on to administer consolation to the 
young Indian woman. This she had done in he r quiet, 


•THE PATHFINDER. 449 

soothing, Insinuating way in which her sex usually exerts 
its influence on such occasions. 

The morning of the third day was set for that on which 
the Scud was to sail. Jasper had made all his prepara- 
tions; the different effects were embarked, and Mabel had 
taken leave of June — a painful and affectionate parting. 
In a word, all was ready, and every soul had left the 
island but the Indian woman, Pathfinder, Jasper, and our 
heroine. The former had gone into a thicket to weep, 
and the three last were approaching the spot where three 
canoes lay, one of which was the property of June, and 
the other two were in waiting to carry the others off to 
the Scud. Pathfinder led the way, but when he drew near 
the shore, instead of taking the direction of the boats, he 
motioned to his companions to follow, and proceeded to 
a fallen tree that lay on the margin of the glade, and out 
of view of those in the cutter. Seating himself on the 
trunk, he signed to Mabel to take her place on one side 
of him and to Jasper to occupy the other. 

“ Sit down here, Mabel; sit down there, Eau-douce,” 
he commenced, as soon as he had taken his own seat; 
“I’ve something that lies heavy on my mind, and now is 
the time to take it off, if it’s ever to be done. Sit down, 
Mabel, and let me lighten my heart, if not my conscience, 
while I’ve the strength to do it.” 

The pause that succeeded lasted two or three minutes, 
and both the young people wondered what was to come 
next — the idea that Pathfinder could have any weight on 
his conscience seeming equally improbable to each. 

“ Mabel,” our hero at length resumed, “ we must talk 
plainly to each other afore we join your uncle in the cut- 
ter, where the Salt-water has slept every night since the 
last rally; for he says it’s the only place in which a man 
can be sure of keeping the hair on his head, he does. 
Ah’s me! what have I to do with these follies and sayings 
now ? I try to be pleasant and to feel light-hearted, but 
the power of man can’t make water run up stream 0 Ma- 
bel, you know that the sergeant, afore he left us, had 
settled it atween us two, that we were to become man 
and wife, and that we were to live together, and to love 
one another as long as the Lord was pleased to keep us 
both on ’arth; yes, and afterward, too.” 


45 ° 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Mabel's cheeks had regained a little of their ancient 
bloom in the fresh air of the morning; but at this un- 
looked-for address they blanched again, nearly to the 
pallid hue which grief had imprinted there. Still she 
looked kindly though seriously at Pathfinder, and even 
endeavored to force a smile. 

“Very true, my excellent friend,’' she answered; “this 
was my poor father’s wish, and I feel certain that a whole 
life devoted to your welfare and comforts could scarcely 
repay you for all you have done for us.’’ 

“ I fear me, Mabel, that man and wife needs be bound 
together by a stronger tie than such feelings, I do. You 
have done nothing for me, or nothing of any account, and 
yet my very heart yearns toward you, it does; and there- 
fore it seems likely that these feelings come from some- 
thing besides saving scalps and guiding through woods.’’ 

Mabel’s cheek had begun to glow again; and though 
she struggled hard to smile, her voice trembled a little as 
she answered : 

“ Had we not better postpone this conversation, Path- 
finder ? ’’ she said; “ we are not alone; and nothing is so 
unpleasant to a listener, they say, as family matters in 
which he feels no interest.’’ 

“It’s because we are not alone, Mabel, or rather be- 
cause Jasper is with us, that I wish to talk of this matter. 
The sergeant believed I might make a suitable companion 
for you, and, though I had misgivings about it — yes, I 
had many misgivings — he finally persuaded me into the 
idee and things came round between us, as you know. 
But when you promised your father to marry me, Mabel, 
and gave me your hand so modestly, but so prettily, there 
was one circumstance, as your uncle called it, that you 
didn’t know; and I’ve thought it right to tell you what 
it is before matters are finally settled. I’ve often taken 
a poor deer for my dinner, when good venison was not to 
be found; but it’s as nat’ral not to take up with the worst 
when the best may be had.’’ 

“You speak in a way, Pathfinder, that is difficult to be 
understood. If this conversation is really necessary, I 
trust you will be more plain.” 

“Well, then, Mabel, I’ve been thinking it was quite 
likely, you gave in to the sergeant’s wishes, that 


THE PATHFINDER. 45 1 

you did not know the natur’ of Jasper Western’s feelings 
toward you ? ” 

“Pathfinder!” — and Mabel’s cheek now paled to the 
livid hue of death; then it flushed to the tint of crimson; 
and her whole frame shuddered. Pathfinder, however, 
was too intent on his own object to notice this agitation; 
and Eau-douce had hidden his face in his hands in time 
to shut out its view. 

“ I’ve been talking with the lad; and, on comparing his 
dreams with my dreams, his feelings with my feelings, 
and his wishes with my wishes, I fear we think too much 
alike concerning you, for both of us to be very happy.” 

“ Pathfinder — you forget — you should remember that 
we are betrothed ! ” said Mabel hastily, and in a voice so 
low that it required acute attention in the listeners to 
catch the syllables. Indeed, the last word was not quite 
intelligible to the guide, and he confessed his ignorance 
by the usual: 

“ Anan ? ” 

“You forget that we are to be married; and such allu- 
sions are improper as well as painful.” 

“ Everything is proper that is right, Mabel; and every- 
thing is right that leads to justice and fair dealing; though 
it is painful enough, as you say — as I find on trial, I do. 
Now, Mabel, had you known that Eau-douce thinks of 
you in this way, maybe you never would have consented 
to be married to one as old and uncomely as I am.” 

“Why this cruel trial, Pathfinder; to what can all this 
lead? Jasper Western thinks no such thing; he says 
nothing — he feels nothing.” 

“Mabel!” burst from out of the young man’s lips, in 
a way to betray the uncontrollable nature of his emotions, 
though he uttered not another syllable. 

Mabel buried her face in both her hands; and the two 
sat like a pair of guilty beings, suddenly detected in the 
commission of some crime that involved the happiness of 
a common patron. At that instant, perhaps, Jasper him- 
self was inclined to deny his passion, through an extreme 
unwillingness to grieve his friend; while Mabel, on whom 
this positive announcement of a fact that she had rather 
unconsciously hoped than believed came so unexpectedly, 
felt r Uind momentarily bewildered, and scarce 


45 2 


THE PATHFINDER. 


knew whetner to weep or to rejoice. Still, sue was the 
first to speak; since Eau-douce could utter naught that 
would be disingenuous, or that would pain his friend. 

“ Pathfinder, ” she said, “you talk wildly. Why men- 
tion this at all ? ” 

“Well, Mabel, if I talk wildly, 1 am half wild, you 
know; by natur’, I fear, as well as by habit. ” As he said 
this, he endeavored to laugh in his usual noiseless way, 
but the effect produced a strange and discordant sound; 
and it appeared nearly to choke him. “Yes, I must be 
wild; I’ll not attempt to deny it.” 

“ Dearest Pathfinder! — my best, almost my only friend! 
you ca?mot , do not think I intended to say that!” inter- 
rupted Mabel, almost breathless in her haste to relieve 
his mortification — “ if courage, truth, nobleness of soul 
and conduct, unyielding principles, and a hundred other 
excellent qualities, can render any man respectable, es- 
teemed, or beloved, your claims are inferior to those of 
no other human being.” 

“What tender and bewitching voices they have, Jas- 
per! ” resumed the guide, now laughing freely and natu- 
rally. “ Yes, natur’ seems to have made them on purpose 
to sing in our ears when the music of the woods is silent! 
But we must come to a right understanding, we must. I 
ask you again, Mabel, if you had known that Jasper 
Western loves you as well as I do, or better perhaps — 
though that is scarce possible; that in his dreams he sees 
your face in the water of the lake; that he talks to you 
and of you in his sleep; fancies all that is beautiful like 
Mabel Dunham, and all that is good and virtuous; be- 
lieves he never knowed happiness until he knowed you; 
could kiss the ground on which you have trod, and forgets 
all the joys of his calling to think of you, and of the de- 
light of gazing at your beauty, and in listening to your 
voice, would you then have consented to marry me ? ” 

Mabel could not have answered this question if she 
would; but, though her face was buried in her hands, the 
dnt of the rushing blood was visible between the open- 
ings, and the suffusion seemed to impart itself to her very 
fingers. Still, nature asserted her power, for there was a 
single instant when the astonished, almost terrified girl 
stole a glance at Jasper, as if distrusting Pathfinder’s his* 


THE PATHFINDER. 


453 


tory of his feelings, read the truth of all he said in that 
furtive look, and instantly concealed her face again, as if 
she would hide it from observation forever. 

“Take time to think, Mabel,” the guide continued, 
“ for it is a solemn thing to accept one man for a hus- 
band, while the thoughts and wishes lead to another. 
Jasper and I have talked this matter over freely and like 
old friends, and though I always knowed that we viewed 
most things pretty much alike, I couldn’t have thought 
that we regarded any particular object with the very same 
eyes, as it might be, until we opened our minds to each 
other about you. Now, Jasper owns that the very first 
time he beheld you, he thought you the sweetest and 
winningest creatur’ he had ever met; that your voice 
sounded like murmuring water in his ears; that he fancied 
his sails were your garments, fluttering in the wind ; that 
your laugh haunted him in his sleep; and that agin and 
agin has he started up affrighted, because he has fancied 
some one wanted to force you out of the Scud , where he 
imagined you had taken up your abode. Nay, the lad 
has even acknowledged that he often weeps at the thought 
that you are likely to spend your days with another and 
not with him.” 

“ Jasper! ” 

“ It’s solemn truth, Mabel, and it’s right you should 
know it. Now stand up, and choose atween us. I do 
believe Eau-douce loves you as well as I do myself ; he 
has tried to persuade me that he loves you better, but that 
I will not allow, for I do not think it possible; but I will 
own the boy loves you heart and soul, and he has a good 
right to be heard. The sergeant left me your protector, 
and not your tyrant. I told him that I would be a father 
to you, as well as a husband, and it seems to me no feel- 
ing father would deny his child this small privilege. Stand 
up, Mabel, therefore, and speak your thoughts as freely 
as if I were the sergeant himself seeking your good, and 
nothing else. ” 

Mabel dropped her hands, arose, and stood face to face 
with her two suitors, though the flush that was on her 
cheek was feverish, the evidence of excitement rather than 
of shame. 

“ What would you have, Pathfinder ? ” she asked. 


454 


THE PATHFINDER. 


“ Have I not already promised my poor father tc do all 
you desire ? ” 

“ Then I desire this. Here I stand, a man of the for- 
est, and of little Taming, though I fear with an ambition 
beyond my desarts, and I’ll do my endivors to do justice 
to both sides. In the first place, it is allowed that so far 
as feelings in your behalf are consumed, we love you just 
the same ; Jasper thinks his feelings must be the strongest, 
but this I cannot say, in honesty, for it doesn’t seem to 
me that it can be true; else I would frankly and freely 
confess it, I would. So in this particular, Mabel, we are 
here before you on equal tarms. As for myself, being the 
oldest, I’ll first say what little can be produced in mj 
favor, as well as agin’ it. As a hunter, I do think there 
is no man near the lines that can outdo me. If venison 
or bear’s meat, or even birds and fish, should ever be 
scarce in our cabin, it would be more likely to be owing 
to Natur’ and Providence, than to any fault of mine. In 
short, it does seem to me that the woman who depended 
on me, would never be likely to want for food. But I am 
fearful ignorant! It’s true, I speak several tongues, such 
as they be, while I’m very far from being expart at my 
own. Then, my years are greater than your own, Mabel, 
and the circumstance that I was so long the sergeant’s 
comrade can be no great merit in your eyes; I wish, too, 
I was more comely, I do; but we are all as Natur’ made 
us, and the last thing that a man ought to lament, except 
on very special occasions, is his looks. When all is re- 
membered, age, looks, Taming, and habits, Mabel, con- 
science tells me I ought to confess that I’m altogether 
unfit for you, if not downright unworthy; and I would 
give up the hope, this minute, I would, if I didn’t fee! 
something pulling at my heart-strings which seems hard 
to undo.” 

“Pathfinder! noble, generous Pathfinder!” cried our 
heroine, seizing his hand, and kissing it with a species of 
holy reverence, “you do yourself injustice — you forget 
my poor father and your promise — you do not know me ! ” 

“Now, here’s Jasper,” continued the guide, without al- 
lowing the girl’s caresses to win him from his purpose; 
“ with him , the case is different. In the way of providing, 
as in that of loving, there’s not much to choose atween 


THE PATHFINDER. 


455 


us, for the lad is frugal, industrious, and careful. Then 
he is quite a scholar — knows the tongue of the Frenchers 
— reads many books, and some, I know, that you like to 
read yourself — can understand you at all times, which, 
perhaps, is more than I can say for myself.” 

“ What of all this ? ” interrupted Mabel, impatiently. 
“ Why speak of it now — why speak of it at all ? ” 

“ Then the lad has a manner of letting his thoughts be 
known, that I fear I can never equal. If there’s anything 
on ’arth that would make my tongue bold and persuad- 
ing, Mabel, I do think it’s yourself; and yet, in our late 
conversations, Jasper has outdone me, even on this point, 
in a way to make me ashamed of myself. He has told 
me how simple you were, and how true-hearted, and kind- 
hearted; and how you looked down upon vanities, for 
though you might be the wife of more than one officer, as 
he thinks, that you cling to feeling, and would rather be 
true to yourself and natur’, than a colonel’s lady. He 
fairly made my blood warm, he did, when he spoke of 
your having beauty without seeming ever to have looked 
upon it, and then the manner in which you moved about 
like a young fa’an, so nat’ral and so graceful like, with- 
out knowing it; and the truth and justice of your idees, 
and the warmth and generosity of your heart ” 

“ Jasper!” interrupted Mabel, giving way to feelings 
that had gathered an ungovernable force by being so long 
pent, and falling into the young man’s willing arms, weep- 
ing like a child, and almost as helpless. “Jasper! Jas- 
per! why have you kept this from me ?” 

The answer of Eau-douce was not very intelligible, nor 
was the murmured dialogue that followed remarkable for 
coherency. But the language of affection is easily under- 
stood. The hour that succeeded passed like a very few 
minutes of ordinary life, so far as a computation of time 
was concerned; and when Mabel recollected herself, and 
bethought her of the existence of others, her uncle was 
pacing the cutter’s deck in great impatience, and wonder- 
ing why Jasper should be losing so much of a favorable 
wind. Her first thought was of him who was so likely to 
feel the recent betrayal of her real emotions. 

“Oh! Jasper!” she exclaimed, like one suddenly self- 
convicted — “ The Pathfinder. ” 


45 6 


THE PATHFINDER. 


Eau-douce fairly trembled, not with unmanly appreheiv* 
sion, but with the painful conviction of the pang he had 
given his friend; and he looked in all directions in the 
expectation of seeing his person. But Pathfinder had 
withdrawn, with a tact and delicacy that might have done 
credit to the sensibility and breeding of a courtier. For 
several minutes the two lovers sat silently awaiting his 
return, uncertain what propriety required of them, under 
circumstances so marked and so peculiar, At length they 
beheld their friend advancing slowly toward them, with a 
thoughtful and even pensive air. 

“I now understand what you meant, Jasper, by speak- 
ing without a tongue, and hearing without an ear,” he 
said, when close enough to the tree to be heard. “Yes, 
I understand it now, I do, and a very pleasant sort of 
discourse it is, when one can hold it with Mabel Dunham. 
Ah’s me! I told* the sergeant I wasn’t fit for her; that I 
was too old, too ignorant, and too wild-like — but he would 
have it otherwise.” 

Jasper and Mabel sat, resembling Milton’s picture of 
our first parents, when the consciousness of sin first laid 
its leaden weight on their souls. Neither spoke, neither 
even moved ; though both at that moment fancied they 
could part with their new-found happiness, in order to 
restore their friend to his peace of mind. Jasper was pale 
as death; but in Mabel maiden modesty had caused the 
blood to mantle on her cheeks until their bloom was 
heightened to a richness that was scarce equalled in her 
hours of light-hearted buoyancy and joy. As the feeling, 
which, in her sex, always accompanies the security of love 
returned, threw its softness and tenderness over her coun- 
tenance, she was singularly beautiful. Pathfinder gazed 
at her with an intentness he did not endeavor to conceal, 
and then he fairly laughed in his own way, and with a 
sort of wild exultation, as men that are untutored are wont 
to express their delight. This momentary indulgence, 
however, was expiated by the pang that followed the 
sudden consciousness that this glorious young creature 
was lost to him forever. It required a full minute for 
this simple-minded being to recover from the shock of 
this conviction ; and then he recovered his dignity of mam 
oer, speaking with gravity — almost with solemnitv. 


THE PATHFINDER. 


457 


“ I have always known, Mabel Dunham, that men have 
their gifts,” he said; “but I’d forgotten that it did not 
belong to mine, to please the young, and beautiful, and 
l’arned. I hope the mistake has been no very heavy 
sin; and if it was I’ve been heavily punished for it, I have. 
Nay, Mabel, I know what you’d say, but it’s unnecessary; 
I feel it all, and that is as good as if I heard it all. I’ve 
had a bitter hour, Mabel — I’ve had a very bitter hour, 
lad ” 

“Hour!” echoed Mabel, as the other first used the 
word, the tell-tale blood which had begun to ebb toward 
her heart rushing again tumultuously to her very temples. 
“ Surely not an hour, Pathfinder ? ” 

“Hour!” exclaimed Jasper at the same instant — “no 
— no — my worthy friend, it is not ten minutes since you 
left us! ” 

“Well, it may be so; though to me it has seemed to be 
a day. I began to think, however, that the happy count 
time by minutes, and the miserable count it by months. 
But we will talk no more of this; it is all over now, and 
many words about it will make you no happier, while they 
will only tell me what I’ve lost; and quite likely how 
much I desarved to lose her. No — no — Mabel, ’tis use- 
less to interrupt me; I admit it all, and your gainsaying 
it, though it be so well meant, cannot change my mind. 
Well, Jasper, she is yours; and though it’s hard to think 
it, I do believe you’ll make her happier than I could, for 
your gifts are better suited to do so, though I would have 
strived hard to do as much, if I knew myself, I would. I 
ought to have known better than to believe the sergeant; 
and I ought to have put faith in what Mabel told me at 
the head of the lake, for reason and judgment might have 
shown me its truth: but it is so pleasant to think that we 
wish, and mankind so easily over-persuade us when we 
over-persuade ourselves. But what’s the use in talking 
of it, as I said afore ? It’s true, Mabel seemed to be 
consenting, though it all came from a wish to please her 
father, and from being skeary about the savages ” 

“ Pathfinder! ” 

“ I understand you, Mabel, and have no hard feelings, 
I hav’n’t. I sometimes think I should like to live in your 
neighborhood that I might look at your happiness; but 


THE PATHFINDER. 


45& 

on the whole it is better I should quit the 55th altogether 
and go back to the 60th, which is my natyve rejiment, as 
it might be. It would have been better, perhaps, had I 
never left, though my sarvices were much wanted in this 
quarter, and I’d been with some of the 55th years agone 
— Sergeant Dunham, for instance, when he was in another 
corps. Still, Jasper, I do not regret that I have known 


“And me, Pathfinder! ” impetuously interrupted Mabel 
— “do you regret having known me ? — could I think so I 
should never be at peace with myself! ” 

“ You, Mabel! ” returned the guide, taking the hand of 
our heroine, and looking up into her countenance with 
guileless simplicity but earnest affection — “ how could I 
be sorry that a ray of the sun came across the gloom of 
a cheerless day; that light has broken in upon darkness, 
though it remained so short a time ? I do not flatter my- 
self with being able to march quite as light-hearted as I 
once used to could, or to sleep as sound for some time to 
come: but I shall always remember how near I was to 
being undesarvedly happy, I shall. So far from blaming 
you, Mabel, I only blame myself for being so vain as to 
think it possible I could please such a creatur’ ; for, sar- 
tainly you told me how it was when we talked it over on 
the mountain, and I ought to have believed you then; for 
I do suppose it’s nat’ral that young women should know 
their own minds better than their fathers. Ah's me ! It’s 
settled now, and nothing remains but for me to take leave 
of you that you may depart; I feel that Master Cap must 
be impatient, and there is danger of his coming on shore 
to look for us all.” 

“To take leave! ” exclaimed Mabel. 

“Leave!” echoed Jasper, “you do not mean to quit 
us, my friend ? ” 

“’Tisbest, Mabel — ’tis altogether best, Eau-douce; and 
it’s wisest. I could live and die in your company if I 
only followed feeling; but if I follow reason, I shall quit 
you here. You will go back to Oswego, and become 
man and wife as soon as you arrive; for all that is deter- 
mined with Master Cap, who hankers after the sea again, 
and who knows what is to happen: while I shall return to 
the wilderness and my Maker. Come, Mabel,” continued 


THE PATHFINDER. 


459 


Pathfinder, rising and drawing nearer to our heroine with 
grave decorum, ‘‘kiss me. Jasper will not grudge me 
one kiss: then we’ll part.” 

“Oh! Pathfinder,” exclaimed Mabel, falling into the 
arms of the guide and kissing his cheeks again and again, 
with a freedom and warmth she had been far from mani- 
festing while held to the bosom of Jasper — “God bless 
you, dearest Pathfinder! You will come to us hereafter. 
We shall see you again. When old you will come to our 
dwelling and let me be a daughter to you ?” 

“Yes — that’s it,” returned the guide, almost gasping 
for breath; “I’ll try to think of it in that way. You’re 
more befitting to be my daughter than to be my wife, you 
are. Farewell, Jasper. Now we will go to the canoe; 
it’s time you were on board.” 

The manner in which Pathfinder led the way to the 
shore was solemn and calm. As soon as he reached the 
canoe he again took Mabel by the hands, held her at the 
length of his own arms, and gazed wistfully into her face 
until the unbidden tears rolled out of the fountains of 
feeling, and trickled down his rugged cheeks in streams. 

“Bless me, Pathfinder,” said Mabel, kneeling reverently 
at his feet. “ Oh! at least bless me before we part.” 

That untutored but noble-minded being did as she de- 
sired and, aiding her to enter the canoe, seemed to tear 
himself away as one snaps a strong and obstinate cord. 
Before he retired, however, he took Jasper by the arm and 
led him a little aside, when he spoke as follows: 

“You’re kind of heart, and gentle by J)atur’, Jasper; 
but we are both rough and wild, in comparison with that 
dear creatur’. Be careful of her, and never show the 
roughness of man’s natur’ to her soft disposition. You’ll 
get to understand her in time; and the Lord who governs 
the lake and the forest alike — who looks upon virtue with 
a smile, and upon vice with a frown — keep you happy and 
worthy to be so ! ” 

Pathfinder made a sign for his friends to depart; and 
he stood leaning on his rifle until the canoe had reached 
the side of the Scud. Mabel wept as if her heart would 
break; nor did her eyes once turn from the open spot in 
the glade, where the form of Pathfinder was to be seen, 
until the cutter had passed a point that comp’etely shut 


460 


THE PATHFINDER. 


out the island When last in view, the sinewy frame of 
this extraordinary man was as motionless as if it were a 
statue set up in that solitary place to commemorate the 
scenes of which it had so lately been the witness. 


CHAPTER XXX. 

“ Oh 5 let me only breathe the air, 

The blessed air that’s breathed by thee; 

And whether on its wings it bear 

Healing or death, ’tis sweet to me ! ” 

— Moore, 

Pathfinder was accustomed to solitude; but when the 
Scud had actually disappeared he was almost overcome 
vvith a sense of his loneliness. Never before had he been 
conscious of his isolated condition in the world; for his 
feelings had gradually been accustoming tkemselves to 
the blandishments and wants of social life; particularly 
as the last were connected with the domestic affections. 
Now, all had vanished, as it might be, in one moment; 
and he was left equally without companions, and without 
hope. Even Chingachgook had left him, though it was 
temporarily; still, his presence was missed at the precise 
instant which might be termed the most critical in our 
hero’s life. 

Pathfinder stood leaning on his rifle, in the attitude de- 
scribed in the last chapter, a long time after the Scud had 
disappeared. The rigidity of his limbs seemed perma- 
nent; and none but a man accustomed to put his muscles 
to the severest proof, could have maintained that posture, 
with its marble-like inflexibility, for so great a length of 
time. At length he moved away from the spot; the mo- 
tion of the body being preceded by a sigh that seemed to 
heave up from the very depths of his bosom 

It was a peculiarity of this extraordinary being, that 
his senses and his limbs, for all practical purposes, wer e 
never at fault, let the mind be preoccupied with other in- 
terests as much as it might On the present occasion 
neither of these great auxiliaries failed him; but. though 
his thou.wts. were exclusively occupied with hei 


THE PATHFINDER. 


461 


beauty, her preference of Jasper, her tea/5, and her de- 
parture, he moved in a direct line to the spot where June 
still remained, which was the grave of her husband. The 
conversation that followed passed in the language of the 
Tuscaroras, which Pathfinder spoke fluently; but, as that 
tongue is understood only by the extremely learned, we 
shall translate it freely into the English ; preserving, as 
far as possible, the tone of thought of each interlocutor, as 
well as the peculiarities of manner. 

June had suffered her hair to fall about her face, had 
taken a seat on a stone that had been dug from the ex- 
cavation made by the grave, and was hanging over the 
spot that contained the body of Arrowhead, unconscious 
of the presence of any other. She believed, indeed, that 
all had left the island but herself, and the tread of the 
guide’s moccasined foot was too noiseless rudely to unde- 
ceive her. 

Pathfinder stood gazing at the woman for several min- 
utes in mute attention. The contemplation of her grief, 
the recollection of her irreparable loss, and the view of 
her desolation, produced a healthful influence on his own 
feelings; his reason telling him how much deeper lay the 
sources of grief in a young wife, who was suddenly and 
violently deprived of her husband, than in himself. 

“ Dew-of-June,” he said, solemnly, but with an earnest* 
ness that denoted the strength of his sympathy — “ you are 
not alone in your sorrow. Turn, and let your eyes look 
upon a friend.” 

“ June has no longer any friend ! ” the woman answered ; 
“Arrowhead has gone to the happy hunting-grounds, and 
there is no one left to care for Tune. The Tuscaroras 
would chase her from their wigwams; the Iroquois are 
hateful in her eyes, and she could not look at them. No! 
— leave June to starve over the grave of her husband.” 

“This will never do — this will never do. ’Tis agin’ 
reason and right. You believe in the Manitou, June ? ” 

“He has hid his face from June, because he is angry. 
He has left her alone to die.” 

“ Listen to one who has had a long acquaintance with 
red natur’, though he has a white birth and white gifts. 
When the Manitou of a pale-face wishes to produce good 
in a pale-face heart, he strikes it with p* ri ef. for it i* m our 


462 


THE PATHFINDER. 


sorrows, June, that we look with the truest eyes into our- 
selves, and with the farthest-sighted eyes too, as respects 
right. The Great Spirit wishes you well and he has taken 
away the chief, lest you should be led astray by his wily 
tongue, and get to be a Mingo, in your disposition, as you 
were already in your company/' 

* Arrowhead was a great chief ! ” returned the woman 
proudly. 

“ He had his merits, he had; and he had his demerits, 
too. But, June, you’re not desarted, nor will you be 
soon. Let your grief out — let it out according to natur’, 
and when the proper time comes, I shall have more to say 
to you.” 

Pathfinder now went to his own canoe, and he left the 
island. In the course of the day, June heard the crack 
of his rifle once or twice; and, as the sun was setting, he 
reappeared, bringing her birds ready cooked, and of a 
delicacy and flavor that might have tempted the appetite 
of an epicure. This species of intercourse lasted a month, 
June obstinately refusing to abandon the grave of her 
husband all that time, though she still accepted the friendly 
offerings of her protector. Occasionally they met and 
conversed, Pathfinder sounding the state of the woman’s 
feelings; but the interviews were short and far from fre- 
quent. June slept in one of the huts, and she laid down 
her head in security, for she was conscious of the protec- 
tion of a friend, though Pathfinder invariably retired at 
night to an adjacent island, where he had built himself 
a hut. 

At the end of the month, however, the season was get- 
ing too far advanced to render her situation pleasant to 
June. The trees had lost their leaves, and the nights were 
becoming cold and wintry. It was time to depart. 

At this moment Chingachgook reappeared. He had 
a long and confidential interview on the island, with his 
friend. J une witnessed their movements, and she saw that 
her guardian was distressed. Stealing to his side, she 
endeavored to soothe his sorrow, with a woman’s gentle- 
ness, and with a woman’s instinct. 

“ Thank you, June — thank you” — he said — fC ’tis well 
meant, though it’s useless. But it is time to quit this 
place. To-morrow we shall depart. You will 70 with 
us, for now you’ve got to feel reason.” 


THE PATHFINDER. 


4<53 


June assented in the meek manner of an Indian woman, 
and she withdrew to pass the remainder of her time near 
the grave of Arrowhead. Regardless of the hour and the 
season, the young widow did not pillow her head during 
the whole of that autumnal night. She sat near the spot 
that held the remains of her husband, and prayed in the 
manner of her people, for his success on the endless path 
on which he had so lately gone, and for their reunion in 
the land of the just. Humble and degraded as she would 
have seemed in the eyes of the sophisticated and unre- 
flecting, the image of God was on her soul, and it vindi- 
cated its divine origin by aspirations and feelings that 
would have surprised those who, feigning more, feel less. 

In the morning the three departed; Pathfinder earnest 
and intelligent in all he did, the great Serpent silent and 
imitative, and June meek, resigned, but sorrowful. They 
went in two canoes, that of the woman being abandoned. 
Chingachgook led the way and Pathfinder followed, the 
course being up stream. Two days they paddled west- 
ward, and as many nights they encamped on islands. For- 
tunately the weather became mild, and when they reached 
the lake it was found smooth and glassy as a pond. It 
was the Indian summer, and the calm and almost the 
blandness of June slept in the hazy atmosphere. 

On the morning of the third day they passed the mouth 
of the Oswego, where the fort and the sleeping ensign in- 
vited them in vain to enter. Without casting a look aside, 
Chingachgook paddled past the dark waters of the river, 
and Pathfinder still followed in silent industry. The ram- 
parts were crowded with spectators; but Lundie, who 
knew the persons of his old friends, refused to allow them 
to be even hailed. 

It was noon when Chingachgook entered a little bay 
where the Scud lay at anchor in a sort of roadstead. A 
small ancient clearing was on the shore, and near the 
margin of the lake was a log dwelling, recently and com- 
pletely, though rudely fitted up. There was an air of 
frontier comfort and of frontier abundance around the 
place, though it was necessarily wild and solitary. Jasper 
stood on the shore; and, when Pathfinder landed, he was 
the first to take him by the hand. The meeting was sim- 
ple, but very cordial. No questions were asked, it being 


4*4 


THE PATHFINDER. 


apparent that Chingachgook had made the necessary ex* 
planations. Pathfinder never squeezed his friend's hand 
more cordially than in this interview; and even he laughed 
cordially in his face as he told him how happy and well 
he appeared, 

“Where is she, Jasper — where is she ? ” the guide at 
length whispered; for at first he had seemed to be afraid 
to trust himself with the question. 

“ She is waiting for us in the house, my dear friend, 
where you see that June has already hastened before us.” 

“June may use a lighter step to meet Mabel, but she 
cannot carry a lighter heart. And so, lad, you found the 
chaplain at the garrison, and all was soon settled ? ” 

“ We were married within a week after we left you, and 
Master Cap departed next day — you have forgotten to 
inquire about your friend, Saltwater ” 

“ Not I — not I. The Sarpent has told me ail that; and 
then I love to hear so much of Mabel and her happiness, 
I do. Did the child smile, or did she weep when the cere- 
mony was over ? ” 

“ She did both, my friend; but ” 

“Yes, that’s their natur’ ; tearful and cheerful. Ah’s 
me! they are pleasant to us of the woods; and I do be- 
lieve I shall think all right, whatever Mabel might do. 
And do you think, Jasper, that she thought of me at all, 
on that joyful occasion ? ” 

“ I know she did, Pathfinder, and she thinks of you and 
talks of you daily — almost hourly. None love you as 
we do! ” 

“I know few love me better than yourself, Jasper. 
Chingachgook is, perhaps, now the only creatur’ of whom 
I can say that. Well, there’s no use in putting it off any 
longer, it must be done and may as well be done at once; 
so, Jasper, lead the way, and I’ll endivor to look upon 
her sweet countenance once more.” 

Jasper did lead the way, and they were soon in the 
presence of Mabel. The latter met her late suitor with 
a bright blush, and her limbs trembled so she could hardly 
stand. Still her manner was affectionate and frank. Dur- 
ing the hour of Pathfinder’s visit, for it lasted no longer, 
though he ate in the dwelling of his friends, one who was 
expert in tracing the workings o£ the human mind might 


THE PATHFINDER. 


4^5 


have ueen a faithful index to the feelings of Mabei, in her 
manner to Pathfinder and her husband. With the latter 
she still had a little of the reserve that usually accompanies 
young wedlock; but the tones of her voice were kinder 
even than common, the glance of her eye was tender, 
and she seldom looked at him without the glow that 
tinged her cheeks betraying the existence of feelings that 
habit and time had not yet soothed into absolute tran- 
quillity. With Pathfinder all was earnest, sincere — even 
anxious; but the tones never trembled, the eye never fell, 
and if the cheek flushed, it was with the emotions that 
are connected with concern. 

At length the moment came when Pathfinder must go 
his way. Chingachgook had already abandoned the ca- 
noes, and was posted on the margin of the woods, where 
a path led into the forest. Here he calmly waited to be 
joined by his friend. As soon as the latter was aware of 
this fact, he rose in a solemn manner, and took his leave. 

“ I’ve sometimes thought that my own fate has been a 
little hard,” he said; “but that of this woman, Mabel, 
has shamed me into reason ” 

“June remains and lives with me,” eagerly interrupted 
our heroine. 

“ So I comprehend it. If anybody can bring her back 
from her grief, and make her wish to live, you can do it, 
Mabel, though I’ve misgivings about even your success. 
The poor creatur’ is without a tribe as well as without a 
husband, and it’s not easy to reconcile the feelings to both 
losses. Ah’s me! — what have I to do with other people’s 
miseries and marriage, as if I hadn’t affliction enough of 
my own ? Don’t speak to me, Mabel — don’t speak to 
me, Jasper — let me go my way in peace, and like a man. 
I’ve seen your happiness, and that is a great deal, and I 
shall be able to bear my own sorrow all the better for it. 
No — I’ll never kiss you agin, Mabel, I’ll never kiss you 
agin. Here’s my hand, Jasper — squeeze it, boy, squeeze 
it; no fear of its giving way, for it is the hand of a man 
— and now, Mabel, do you take it — nay, you must not do 
this” — preventing Mabel from kissing it, and bathing it 
with her tears — “you must not do this.” 

“Pathfinder,” asked Mabel “when shall w© see you 

agaim > M 


THE PATHFINDER. 


40^ 

“I’ve thought of that, too; yes, I’ve thought of that, 
I have. If the time should ever come when I can look 
upon you altogether as a sister, Mabel, or a child — it 
might be better to say a child, since you’re young enough 
to be my daughter — depend on it, I’ll come back; for it 
would lighten my very heart to witness your gladness. 
But if I cannot — farewell — farewell — the sergeant was 
wrong — yes, the sergeant was wrong! ” 

This was the last the Pathfinder ever uttered to the 
ears of Jasper Western and Mabel Dunham. He turned 
away, as if the words choked him, and was quickly at the 
side of his friend. As soon as the latter saw him approach, 
he shouldered his own burden, and glided in among the 
trees without waiting to be spoken to. Mabel, her hus- 
band, and June, all watched the form of the Pathfinder, 
in the hope of receiving a parting gesture, or a stolen 
glance of the eye; but he did not look back. Once or 
twice they thought they saw his head shake, as one trem- 
bles in bitterness of spirit; and a toss of the hand was 
given, as if he knew that he was watched; but a tread 
whose vigor no sorrow could enfeeble soon bore him out 
of view, and he was lost in the depths of the forest. 

Neither Jasper nor his wife ever beheld the Pathfinder 
again. They remained for another year on the banks of 
Ontario; and then the pressing solicitations of Cap in- 
duced them to join him in New York, where Jasper event- 
ually became a successful and respected merchant. Thrice 
Mabel received valuable presents of furs, at intervals of 
years; and her feelings told her whence they came though 
no name accompanied the gift. Later in life still, when 
the mother of several youths, she had occasion to visit 
the interior, and found herself on the banks of the Mo- 
hawk, accompanied by her sons, the eldest of whom was 
capable of being her protector. On that occasion she 
observed a man in a singular disguise, watching her in the 
distance, with an intentness that induced her to inquire 
into his pursuits and character. She was told he was the 
most renowned hunter of that portion of the State — it 
was after the Revolution — a being of great purity of char- 
acter, and of as marked peculiarities; and that he was 
known in that region of country by the name of the 
L^athe r stocking. Further than this Mrs. Western could 


THE PATHFINDER. 


46 i 

not ascertain; though the distant glimpse ana singular 
deportment of the unknown hunter gave her a sleepless 
night, and cast a shade of melancholy over her still lovely 
face, that lasted many a day. 

As for June, the double loss of husband and tribe pro- 
duced the effect that Pathfinder had foreseen. She died 
in the cottage of Mabel, on the shore of the lake; and 
Jasper conveyed her body to the island, where he interred 
it by the side of that of Arrowhead. 

Lundie lived to marry his ancient love, and retired, a 
warworn and battered veteran; but his name has been 
rendered illustrious in our own time by the deeds of a 
younger brother, who succeeded to his territorial title, 
which, however, was shortly after merged in one earned 
by his valor on the ocean. 


THE END. 








THE GEOS SET AND DUNLAP SPECIAL 
EDITIONS OF POPULAR NOVELS THAT 
HAVE BEEN DRAMATIZED. 


CAPE COD FOLKS: By Sarah P. McLean Greene. 

Illustrated with scenes from the play, as originally 
produced at the Boston Theatre. * 

IF I WERE KING : By Justin Huntly McCarthy. 

Illustrations from the play, as produced by S® H. » 
Sothern. 

DOROTHY VERNON OF HADDON HALL: 
By Charles Major. 

The Bertha Galland Edition, with illustrations from 
the play. 

WHEN KNIGHTHOOD WAS IN FLOWER: 
By Charles Major. 

Illustrated with scenes from the remarkably suc- 
cessful play, as presented by Julia Marlowe. 

THE VIRGINIAN : By Owen Wister. 

With full page illustrations by A. I. Keller. 
Dustin Farnum has made the play famous by his 
creation of the title role. 

THE MAN ON THE BOX: By Harold MacGrath. 

Illustrated with scenes from the play, as originally 
produced in New York, by Henry E. Dixey. A piquant, 
charming story, and the author’s greatest success. 

These books are handsomely bound in cloth, are 
well-made in every respect, and aside from their un- 
usual merit as stories, are particularly interesting to 
those who like things theatrical. Price, postpaid, 
seventy-five cents each. 


GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers 
52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK 


HERETOFORE PUBLISHED AT Si. so 

BOOKS BY JACK LONDON 

is mo., Cloth, 75 Cents Each, Postpaid 


THE CALL OF THE WILD : 

With illustrations by Philip R. Goodwin and Charles Living- 
ston Bull. Decorated by Charles Edward Hooper. 

**A big story in sober English, and with thorough art in the 
construction . . . a wonderfully perfect bit of work. The dog 
adventures are as exciting as any man’s exploits could be, and 
Mr. London’s workmanship is wholly satisfying .” — The New 
York Sun. 

THE SEA WOLF : Illustrated by W. J. Aylward. 

“ This story surely has the pure Stevenson ring, the adven- 
turous glamour, the vertebrate stoicism. ’Tis surely the story 
of the making of' a man, the sculptor being Captain Larsen, 
and the clay, the ease-loving, well-to-do, half-drowned man* 
to all appearances his helpless prey . ” — Critic. 

THE PEOPLE OF THE ABYSS : 

A vivid and intensely interesting picture of life, as the au- 
thor found it, in the slums of London. Not a survey of im- 
pressions formed on a slumming tour, but a most graphic ac- 
count of real life from one who succeeded in getting on the 
** inside.’* More absorbing than a novel. A great and vital 
book. Profusely illustrated from photographs. 

THE SON OF THE WOLF : 

“ Even the most listless reader will be stirred by the virile 
force, the strong, sweeping strokes with which the pictures of 
the northern wilds and the life therein are painted, and the in- 
sight given into the soul of the primitive of nature.”— Plain 
Dealer , Cleveland. 

A DAUGHTER OF THE SNOWS : 

It is a book about a woman, whose personality and plan in 
the story are likely to win for her a host of admirers. The 
story has the rapid movement, incident and romantic flavor 
which have interested so many in his tales. The illustrations 
are by F. C. Yohn. 


GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers 
52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK 


NEW POPULAR EDITIONS OF 

MARY JOHNSTON’S 
NOVELS 

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 
It was something new and startling to see an au- 
thor’s first novel sell up into the hundreds of thou- 
sands, as did this one. The ablest critics spoke of 
it in such terms as “ Breathless interest,” The high 
water mark of American fiction since Uncle Tom’s 
Cabin,” “ Surpasses all,” “Without a rival,” “Ten- 
der and delicate,” “ As good a story of adventure as 
one can find,” “ The best style of love story, clean, 
pure and wholesome.” 

AUDREY 

; . With the brilliant imagination and the splendid 
courage of youth, she has stormed the very citadel 
of adventure. Indeed it would be impossible to 
carry the romantic spirit any deeper into fiction.— 

Agnes Refiplier. 

PRISONERS OF HOPE 

i Pronounced by the critics classical, accurate, inter- 
esting, American, original, vigorous, full of move- 
ment and life, dramatic and fascinating, instinct with 
life and passion, and preserving throughout a singu- 
larly even level of excellence. ' 

Each volume handsomely bound in cloth. Large 
12 mo. size. Price, 75 cents per volume, postpaid. 


GRQSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers 
52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK 


THE GR OSSET AND DUNLAP SPECIAL 
EDITIONS OF POPULAR NO VELS THAT 
UA VE BEEN DRAMATIZED. 


BREWSTER’S MILLIONS: By George Barr 
McCutcheon. 

A clever, fascinating tale, witn a striking and un- 
usual plot. With illustrations from the original New 
York production of the play. 

THE LITTLE MINISTER : By J. M. Barrie. 

With illustrations from the play as presented by 
Maude Adams, and a vignette in gold of Miss Adams 
on the cover. 

CHECKERS : By Henry M. Blossom, Jr. 

A story of the Race Track. Illustrated with scenes 
from the play as originally presented in New York 
by Thomas W T . Ross who created the stage character. 

THE CHRISTIAN : By Hall Caine. 

THE ETERNAL CITY : By Hall Caine. 

Each has been elaborately and successfully staged. 

IN THE PALACE OF THE KING: By F. Marion 
Crawford. 

A love story of Old Madrid, with full page illustra- 
tions. Originally played with great success by Viola 
Allen. 

JANICE MEREDITH : By Paul Leicester Ford. 

New edition with an especially attractive cover, 
a really handsome book. Originally played by Mary 
Mannering, who created the title role. 

These books are handsomely bound in cloth, are 
well-made in every respect, and aside from their un- 
usual merit as stories, are particularly interesting to 
those who like things theatrical. Price, postpaid, 
seventy-five cents each. 


GBOSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers 
52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK 


GET THE BEST OUT-DOOR ST ORIES 

Stewart Edward White’s 

Great Novels of Western Life. 

— ■ ■■■■»■■ ■ ' M II III ■■ ■■ I ■■i ni.WMi I - — a m n — 

GROSSET & DUNLAP EDITIONS 


THE BLAZED TRAIL 

Mingles the romance of the forest with the romance of 
man's heart, making a story that is big and elemental, while 
not lacking in sweetness and tenderness. It is an epic of the 
life of the lumbermen of the great forest of the Northwest, 
permeated by out of door freshness, and the glory of the 
struggle with nature. 

THE SILENT PLACES 

A powerful story of strenuous enaeavor and fateful priva- 
tion in the frozen North, embodying also a detective story of 
much strength and skill. The author brings out with sure 
touch and deep understanding the mystery and poetry of the 
still, frost-bound forest. 

THE CLAIM JUMPERS 

A tale of a Western mining camp and the making of a man, 
with which a charming young lady has much to do. The 
tenderfoot has a hard time of it, but meets the situation, 
shows the stuff he is made of, and “ wins out.’* 

THE WESTERNERS 

A tale of the mining camp and the Indian country, full of 
color and thrilling incident. 

THE MAGIC FOREST: A Modern Fairy Story. 

4 ' No better book could be put in a young boy’s hands, ’* 
says the New York Sun. It is a happy blend of knowledge 
of wood life with an understanding of Indian character, as 
well as that of small boys. 

Each volume handsomely bound in cloth. Price, seventy- 
five cents per volume, postpaid. 


GEOSSET & D (JNLAP, Publishers 
52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK 


POPULAR PRICED EDITIONS OF BOOKS 
MT 

LOUIS TRACY 

nmo s cloth, 75 cents each, postpaid 


Books that make the nerves tingle — romance and ad- 
venture of the best type — wholesome for family reading 


THE PILLAR OF LIGHT 

€€ Breathless interest is a hackneyed phrase, but every 
reader of ‘ The Pillar of Light * who has red blood in 
his or her veins, will agree that the trite saying applies to 
the attention which this story commands. — New York Sun . 

THE WINGS OF THE MORNING 

* € Here is a story filled with the swing of adventure. 
There are no dragging intervals in this volume : from the 
moment of their landing on the island until the rescuing 
crew find them there, there is not a dull moment for the 
young people — nor for the reader either . M — New York 
Times . 

THE KING OF DIAMONDS 

€€ Verily, Mr. Tracy is a prince of story-tellers. His 
charm is a little hard to describe, but it is as definite as 
that of a rainbow. The reader is carried along by the 
robust imagination of the author . — San Francisco Exam - 
iner. 


GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers 

52 DUANE STREET :: :: NEW YORK 


FAMOUS COPYRIGHT BOOKS 
IN POPULAR PRICED EDITIONS 

Re-issues of the great literary successes of the time. Library 
size. Printed or excellent paper — most of them with illustra- 
tions of marked beauty — and handsomely bound in cloth. 
Price, 75 cents a volume, postpaid. 


THE SPIRIT OF THE SERVICE. By Edith Elmer 
Wood. With illustrations by Rufus Zogbaum. 

The standards and life of 'the new navy” are breezily set fcr'ai 
with a geuuine ring impossible from the most gifted “outsider.” 
“ The story of the destruction of the ‘Maine/ and of the Battle of 
Manila, are very dramatic. The author is the daughter of one naval 
officer and the wife of another. Naval folks will find much to inter- 
est them in * The Spirit of the Service.’ The Book Buyer. 

A SPECTRE OF POWER. By Charles Egbert Craddock. 

Miss MuPree has pictured Tennessee mountains and^ the mountain 
people in striking colors and with dramatic vividness, but goes back 
to the time of the struggles of the F.v=nch and English in the early 
eighteenth century for possession of the Cherokee territory. The 
story abounds in adventure, mystery, peril and suspense. 

THE STORM CENTRE. By Charles Egbert Cracmock. . 

A war story ; but more of flirtation, love and courtship than ef 
fighting or history. The tale is thoroughly readable and takes its 
readers again into golden Tennessee, into the atmosphere which has 
liscmguished all of Miss Murfree’s novels. 

THE ADVENTURESS. By Coralie Stanton. IVith color 
frontispiece by Harrison Fisher, and attractive inlay cover 
in colors. 

As a penalty for her crimes, her evil nature, her flint-like callous- 
ness, her more than inhuman cruelty, her contempt for the laws of 
God and man, she w*as condemned to bury her magnificent personal- 
ty, her transcendent beauty, her superhuman charms, in gilded 
obscurity at a King’s left hand. A powerful story powerfully told. 

THE GOLDEN GREYHOUND. A Novel by Dwight 
Tilton. With illustrations by E. Poliak. 

A thoroughly good story that keeps you guessing to the very end, 
*nd never attempts to instruct or reform you. It is a strictly "up-to- 
date story of love and mystery with wireless telegraphy and all the 
modern improvements. The events nearly all take place on a big 
Atlantic liner and the romance of the deep is skilfully made to serve 
as a setting for the romance, old as mankind, yet always new, in- 
volving our hero. 

GROSSE “^EWY^K 


PRINCESS MARITZA 

A NOVEL OF RAPID ROMANCE. , 
BY PERCY BREBNER 
With Harrison Fisher Illustrations in Color. 

Offers more real entertainment and keen enjoyment than 
any book since “ Graustark.” Full of picturesque life and 
color and a delightful love-story. The scene of the story is 
W allaria, one of those mythical kingdoms in Southern Europe. 
Maritza is the rightful heir to the throne, but is kept away from 
her own country. The hero is a young Englishman of noble 
family. It is a pleasing book of fiction. Large 12 mo. size. 
Handsomely bound in cloth. White coated wrapper, with 
Harrison Fisher portrait in colors. Price 75 cents, postpaid. 


Books by George Barr McCutcheon 

BREWSTER’S MILLIONS 

Mr. Montgomery Brewster is required to spend a million 
dollars in one year in order to inherit seven millions. He must 
be absolutely penniless at that time, and yet have spent the 
million in a way that will commend him as fit to inherit the 
larger sum. How he does it forms the basis for one of the 
most crisp and breezy romances of recent years. 

CASTLE CRANEYCROW ‘ , 

vThe story revolves around the abduction of a young Ameri- 
can woman and the adventures created through her rescue. 
The title is taken from the name of an old castle on the Con- 
tinent, the scene of her imprisonment. 

GRAUSTARK: A Story of a Love Behind a Throne. 

This work has been and is to-day one of the most popular 
works of fiction of this decade. The meeting of the Princess 
of Graustark with the hero, 'while travelling incognito in this 
country, his efforts to find her, his success, the defeat of con- 
spiracies to dethrone her, and their happy marriage, provide 
entertainment which every type of reader will enjoy. 

THE SHERRODS. With illustrations by C. D.Williams 
A novel quite unlike Mr. McCutcheon’s previous works in 
the field of romantic fiction and yet possessing the charm in- 
separable from anything he writes. The scene is laid in In- 
diana and the theme is best described in t 5 "* words, “ Whom 
God hath joined, let no man put asunder. 1 

Each volume handsomely bound in cloth. Large i2mo. size. 
Price 75 cents per volume, postpaid. 


GROSSET & DUNLAP, PuBLisHEua 

52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK 


A BEAUTIFUL BOOK 

LORNA DOONE 

EXMOOR EDITION. By R. D. BLACKMORE 

A large izmo volume, about 5^x8^ inches in size* 
bound in cloth, with decorative cover of floral design, 
and colored tops. Printed on fine smooth wove paper of 
excellent quality, and embellished with over two hundred 
and fifty drawings, initial letters, head and tail pieces, etc., 
by some of the best American Artists, among whom are 
Henry Sandham, George Wharton Edwards, W. H. 
Drake, Harry Fenn, and Wm. Hamilton Gibson. Un- 
doubtedly the most elaborate and expensively printed 
edition of this greatest novel of modern times yet offered 
at a moderate price. 

Price, Boxed, One Dollar. 

THE SAME , in three quarter Crushed Morocco, gold 
tops and silk head bands. 

Price, Boxed, Two Dollars and Fifty Cents. 

THE SAME, Two Volume Edition, beautifully bound 
in crimson cloth, with colored tops, and a fac-simile of 
John Ridd’s coat of arms in ink and gold on the covers. 
Enclosed in a flat box. 

Price Two Dollars Per Set. 

THE SAME, Two Volume Edition, in three-quarter 
Crushed Morocco, with gold tops and silk head bands. 
Encased in a flat box. 

Price Five Dollars Per Set. 

Sent fost-paid, on receipt of price by the Publishers . 

GROSSET & DUNLAP 

52 DUANE STREET :: :: NEW YORK 


BOOKS ON NATURE STUDY BY 

CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS 

Handsomely bound in cloth. Price, 75 cents per volume, postpaid. 


THE KINDRED OF THE WILD. A Book of Animal Life. 
With illustrations by Charles Livingston Bull. 

Appeals alike to the young and to the merely youthful-hearted. 
Close observation. Graphic description. We get a sense of the 
great wild and its denizens. Out of the common. Vigorous and full 
of character. The book is one to be enjoyed ; all the more because 
it smacks of the forest instead of the museum. John Burroughs says : 
“ The volume is in many ways the most brilliant collection of Animal 
Stories that has appeared. It reaches a high order of literary merit.” 

THE HEART OF THE ANCIENT WOOD. Illustrated. 

This book strikes a new note in lit erature. It is a realistic romance 
of the folk of the forest — a romance of the alliance of peace between 
a pioneer’s daughter in the depths of the ancient wood and the wild 
beasts wdio felt her spell and became her friends. It is not fanciful, 
with talking beasts ; nor is it merely an exquisite idyl of the beasts 
themselves. It is an actual romance, in which the animal characters 
play their parts as naturally as do the human. The atmosphere of 
the book is enchanting. The reader feels the undulating, whimpering 
music of the forest, the power of the shady silences, the dignity of the 
beasts who live closest to the heart of the wood. 

THE WATCHERS OF THE TRAILS. A companion volume 
to the “ Kindred of the Wild.” With 48 full page plates 
and decorations from drawings by Charles Livingston Bull. 

These stories are exquisite in their refinement, and yet robust in 
their appreciation of some of the rougher phases of "woodcraft. “This 
is a book full of delight. An additional charm lies in Mr. Bull’s faith- 
ful and graphic illustrations, which in fashion all their own tell the 
story of the wild life, illuminating and supplementing the pen pictures 
of the authors .”— Literary Digest. 

RED FOX. The Story of His Adventurous Career in the Ring- 
waak Wilds, and His Triumphs over the Enemies of His 
Kind. Wth 50 illustrations, including frontispiece in color 
and cover design by Charles Livingston Bull. 

A brilliant chapter in natural history. Infinitely more wholesome 
reading than the average tale of sport, since it gives a glimpse of the 
hunt from the point of view of the hunted. “ True in substance but 
fascinating as fiction. It -will interest old and young, city-bound and 
free-footed, those who know animals and those who do not.”— 
Chicago Record-Herald. 


GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, - - New York 



NATURE BOOKS 


With Colored Plates, and Photographs from Life. 


NATURE'S GARDEN. An Aid to Knowledge of 
Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors. 24 col- 
ored plates, and many other illustrations photographed 
directly from nature. Text by Neltje Blanchan. 
Large Quarto, size 7^x10^. Cloth. Formerly pub- 
lished at $3.00 net. Our special price, §1.25. 

Suberb color portraits of many familiar flowers in 
their living tints, and no less beautiful pictures in 
black and white of others — each blossom photo-' 
graphed directly from nature — form an unrivaledj 
series. By their aid alone the novice can name the 
flowers met afield. 

Intimate life-histories of over five hundred species 
of wild flowers, written in untechnical, vivid lan- 
guage, emphasize the marvelously interesting and 
vital relationship existing between these flowers and 
the special insect to which each is adapted. 

The flowers are divided into five color groups, be- 
cause by this arrangement any one with no knowl- 
edge of botany whatever can readily identify the 
specimens met during a walk. The various popular 
names by which each species is known, its preferred 
dwelling-place, months of blooming and geographical 
distribution follow its description. Lists of berry- 
bearing and other plants most conspicuous after the 
flowering season, of such as grow together in differ- 
ent kinds of soil, and finally of family groups ar- 
ranged by that method of scientific classification 
adopted by the International Botanical Congress 
which has now superseded all others, combine to 
make “Nature's Garden" an indispensable guide. 

GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK 


NATURE . BOOKS 

With Colored Plates, and Photographs from Life. 


BIRD NEIGHBORS. An Introductory Acquaint- 
ance with 150 Birds Commonly Found in the Woods, 
Fields and Gardens About Our Homes. By Neltje 
Blanchan. With an Introduction by John Burroughs, 
and many plates of birds in natural colors. Large 
Quarto, size 7^x10 Cloth. Formerly published 
at $2.00. Our special price, $1.00. 

As an aid to the elementary study of bird life nothing has ever been 
published more satisfactory than this most successful of Nature 
Books. This book makes the identification of our birds simple and 
positive, even to the uninitiated, through certain unique features. 

I. All the birds are grouped according to color, in the belief that a 
bird’s coloring is the first and often the only characteristic noticed. 

II. By another classification, the birds are grouped according to their 
season. III. All the popular names by which a bird is known are 
given both in the descriptions and the index. The colored plates 
are the most beautiful and accurate ever given in a moderate-priced 
and popular book. The must successful and -widely sold Nature 
Book yet published. 

BIRDS THAT HUNT AND ARE HUNTED. Life 
Histories of 170 Birds of Prey, Game Birds and Water- 
Fowls. By Neltje Blanchan. With Introduction by 
G. O. Shields (Coquina). 24 photographic illustra- 
tions in color. Large Quarto, size 7^x10^. Form- 
erly published at $ 2.00 . Our special price, $ 1 . 00 . 

No work of its class has ever been issued that contains so much 
valuable information, presented with such felicity and charm. The 
colored plates are true to nature. By their aid alone any bird illus- 
trated may be readily identified. Sportsmen will especially relish 
the twenty-four color plates which show the more important birds in 
characteristic poses. They are probably the most valuable and 
artistic pictures of the kind available to-day. 

GROSSET & DUNLAP, ~ NEW YORK 















































3 V A° 

»VL> ^ v • !*•» 'A 4 ? ,•• 

:^o %c? ' 

< V ' 


;V>. 


c5 0 ^ 




•V '^ t 


■*-.^i 4 .6*' „ ^ •'?.?*' ^ \ 

lf> c° .<A^% % ,-j^ t -^. *+ c° ° 0 "° ■" 

"W ,) bv i '^rS 

j. 0 -^ 

.0 ^ w *•'.■.• J 

r.’°* ^ ^p 



^ %**???•* v -* 
,^a- r|gg|-. ; -^&: V 

* .v*^ •'.iMsifir 0 A V- V 

T.T 4 ’ A 


V ,v 






*bV 

o ^ ^ 

\ ■'■^•- y \ 

A /,;y:-. % > . 

%><? :%&zk\ ° 

<* ^ ' J V *» O A V ^ 

* V vfv v^S^K* <4^ ”^«* 

'o.s* .(y v5- *^!s' A <> "'•*» 

»* 0° % a* V c 0 ' 

^ ^ SJW&s. ^>,A 

/ °o ‘ 0 * ■?> O ,, <v . 

a t«<> *0 V **••'«, *> V * t# °* C* 

SvVZk ° V « r v^V * ^^^y//}l « ^ ^ 

° ' V \ v 'V ifW: '.pb ° 




. » * <6 

A v . i ^ ,cr o ° " 0 

*bv* :mm^~ *+# . 

>- 


*”* A 

A . • 1 ' * 





< 5 . 

y-'^y 4? C O j *■* Neutralizing Age 

&■ & 0 N o .<y Treatment Date- 

<> 4> C\ 

■ \A ••^* + < 




A* 



» v/ - -* v v * u, 

**^ ttSS ; h f Bookkeeper process. 
fSSffi* Magnesium Oxide 

AUG 1996 



* 4 


• A 0 V 

o » e » %, A . i • » 

a.iv - a •* • r> t a /?^» 


—jBBKKEEPgn 

PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES INC 
Itl Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Twp., PA 16066 
(412)779-2111 


r: 


<AAAv 


\ J>\' 

I ^ : 

1 ^ ° 


* ''T^* ^ °o .o° 


A 




» "<£, « 

* V* O' 


> 


H 
O 

O ^5 ^ 

' o % 

■C,v <o * 

* y * °* ^c> 

^ ♦IkxVa" ^y> ^ * 
: :^W/A\ * c > 

* A V ^ o 

,0 s v> *?T' * * A <\ 

i> o 0 N ® ^ .A a t i e ^ <P 

• ^ O .1^’ 

<< 
o 

« 



c5> : 

* 6/ 

« V ^ - 


** V 

* O' >V* 

A> ... 


■* +* rtf 



,■=></■•- : 

4 f * w * 

A ■ . 0 w o . ^ 


« «>* <A 


* 0v to 



c ♦ 

* o v : 

•-C|»: <£ <?* -. 

rf> Tb.u\\\X^ :i ' k” * 

*► <x} O *■ 

> * ° » ° .V t*. *’»«’■ A' 

> O .*.*»- <A A- 

rt> A v *<fl\W/A° xV & * 

c 5 > •» o aV^ o 

V * &y ^ o 



\0 * 7 * * 

^ <K * 

P' \ •....- A 

0 > eft. T -v ^ \ 

% ^ V * 




: *U* 


Off* 


* c5> -* 

* 4/ v Co* O 

* <X> c{a «► 

* ,0^ \r> * 



,*&- i 

- ' an ♦ 

• O > * 

# \Q v*“» 

v £ . * 

* A ^L. * 

Ip * . , i • A U Af*. * o . o . . 

c\ .0 s = * - ’ 'v «> A . 

J|ak ^ «? • 

0 ^ o ° 1 w ^ ' o 


^L. 


» « 


0 V 0 ° 1 %. -o 


A 


K v <- 
O > 


0 » 

tA ^ ^ to 

o* A- o %f;.» ,0 ; tc 

^P *p> 9 ! ^ A 9> 





• ■ * . VJ 0 ^ ^ O A x o ' " >P tA .< 

* j^rilT/yU « ^ 4 v ^ * K &ffl77?? * ^ *y . . ^ 



